A Twist in the tale
by Duke157
Summary: Turn to page 521 of the House of Hades. Spin-off from the regular story. Percy stays in Tartarus. Spoilers for HOH. Rated T for language. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

The story starts on page 521 of the House of Hades (Spoiler Alert).

**DISCLAIMER: **I own PJO (evil laugh)... (waking up), sigh, just a dream, I don't own any of the PJO characters. I only own mine.

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_**Dreams**_

Annabeth's Pov:

"You're Impossible!" He said.

"Love you too" I said.

Then I noticed that his expression changed. He became serious, with a stern look on his face. He took a step towards me and pushed me through the Doors of Death.

"Annabeth go. Save the world for me. Stop Gaia and I promise I will come back for you. And I will always love you"

"Percy NOOOOOOO!" .I screamed. And the elevator doors sealed.

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I sat up on my bed, sweating, and panting. I looked at the clock to see that the time was 7:00 am. It has been five years since the second giant war. Five years since I last saw Percy. Since then I hadn't slept peacefully even for one night. Every day I woke up to the same nightmare.

I cried into my bed for a few minutes and then let out some wise words for Hera. I blamed it on her to get us involved in this mess in the first place and then I crept out of bed. After brushing, cursing Hera, bathing, cursing Gaia, dressing, cursing some other gods, eating, and praying for Percy, I finally got onto the bus to my office.

I'm just a regular architect in bright and sunny Houston, Texas. I got fed up with the gods and all their wars and quests. So when I was asked for my reward, I asked for Percy, but when Mom refused, I asked for us (me and Percy) to be left alone from all these quests. They agreed. So now I am just a normal mortal architect.

I heard a voice "Hey Annie". "Carly, DON'T call me Annie" I retorted. She laughed.

Carly was my best friend and colleague here in Houston, even though I met her only two years ago. She was a redhead. She was born and bought up here in Houston. Her parents died in a car crash four years ago and she works here to earn enough for herself and her younger half-brother Shawn, who was now in sixth grade.

"Hey. What happened? You look troubled" she asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, the nightmare's taking its toll on me", I replied

"The same one as yesterday?"

"It is always the same one." I sighed. Though I didn't tell her the truth that Percy's disappearance in Tartarus (For Zeus's sake, she's a mortal), she does know that it is about him and my last (painful) moments with him.

"Why don't you just move on?" she asked.

"I can't. He's just too close to me. I loved him too much." I replied with sad tone. "But I hope that I will find him again one day."

"But I still say you should move on. It is your choice." She replied.

Just then the door swung open. "Morning Carly, Annie." beamed a man's voice.

"I do not like to be called ANNIE" I growled. Carly giggled, while Matt continued with his morning speech, completely ignoring my reply "Have you finished the blueprints for the aquarium."

Matt was our boss. He was a very annoying creature who always loaded us with lots of work.

"They'll be done by evening." Carly replied.

"Good. Because the builders are coming tomorrow to start the construction." Matt replied. "I want it finalized by tonight. Cheerio." Then he turned to leave the room, but as he reached the door, he turned around and said "Annie, You are the main architect for the building. So you will work with builders until the building is finished. they will come tomorrow for the auction."

"AUCTION!?" we yelled. "What auction?"

"The two leading companies, The Chase enterprises and the The Richardson inc. offered to buy the aquarium. We decided to hold an auction for the building. The highest bidder gets the aquarium. Be ready Annie."

"STOP CALLING ME ANNIE!" I screamed as Matt shut the door. The rest of the day was uneventful.

I reached home by 8 in the night, ordered pizza and dozed off to sleep.

Little did I know that this aquarium would change my life in ways that I had never before imagined (I have a big imagination, being a demigod and a child of Athena). I just sighed and fell asleep, waiting to be ambushed by the same nightmare that haunted me every night.

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**This is my first fic. Please Review. I will appreciate it so much.**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

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_**The Auction part 1**_

I woke up at 7 am, once again with nightmare of Percy. Today was day of the auction. I quickly slipped on a white shirt and a tight grey miniskirt that ran down to my knees. I put on a pair of black 2 inch stilettos, that I wore only on special occasions. I hated heels and felt really comfortable in my converse.

I got on a bus and I reached the auction by 9 am. I saw Matt and Carly waiting for me.

"Hi Carly", I said, completely ignoring Matt.

"Hi Ann-", Carly replied but she was intercepted by Matt.

"You're late" Matt snorted.

"I got caught up in traffic" I replied with some distaste.

"I want you to know more about the auctioneers." Matt carried on while Carly stared at Matt, amazed at how he ignored our replies completely.

"Richardson inc. will sit in green chairs and Chase enterprises will sit in the grey ones." Standing on the stage, I saw that the chairs to my left were painted in green and the chairs to my right were painted in grey.

"The CEO of Richardson inc., Mr. James Richardson, will be joining us for the auction, though the CEO of Chase ent., Peter Roberts, will not. His assistant Ms. Sarah Smith will be present instead." he explained.

"He won't be coming?" Carly asked with a look of surprise on her face.

"No, he won't, isn't that what I just said" Matt replied .

"The aquarium is worth at least 20 BILLION dollars, and the CEO won't show up. I can't believe it." I growled.

"Yes" Matt replied nonchalantly, as if this happens every day.

'They have a really stupid CEO' I thought to myself.

"Carly, you will sit next to Mr. Richardson, and Annie, you will sit next to Ms. Smith."

Suddenly we heard the sound of a few cars stopping in front of the auction hall.

"They're here.

I saw a tall and slim brunette step out from a bright red Ferrari and start walking towards the stage. She was wearing a tight black blouse and a very short and slutty black miniskirt. She was wearing thick red lipstick. She walked up to us, swinging her hips so hard that I was sure that they would fall off before she reached us. Luckily they did not.

"Good Morning Ms. Smith, I am Matt, and this is Annabeth, the main architect behind this aquarium. She will be sitting with you during the auction." Matt introduced us.

"Good Morning" I said, stretching my hand out for a handshake. But she completely ignored it and walked on.

'The whole company is run by idiots' I thought to myself angrily, and sat down next to her without engaging any conversation.

I started looking around for Carly and saw that she was seated in the chair allotted to her. I tried to catch her attention but she was too engrossed in her phone, so I gave up.

I turned my head to Ms. Smith and started thinking about how long Ms. Smith's hips would stay with her. Then, a thought crossed my mind. I turned to Ms. Smith, who was sitting idle with an annoyed expression on her face, and asked her "Where is Mr. Roberts?"

She looked at me with the same annoyed look on her face. "It is none of your business" she retorted.

I felt my temper rise. "I would _love_ to see my future boss" 'If he wins this auction' I didn't say the last part out.

"You needn't worry about that. He is usually out of his office and even I see him only once a month. So for most of the time, I will be your boss." She snapped.

'Oh Zeus, why did my boss have to be her?' I thought.

I was so engrossed in my conversation with Ms. Smith that I didn't notice that the other company had arrived. I tried to get a look at Mr. Richardson but I couldn't see him.

'Great, I got into an argument AND missed my chance to get a look at Mr. Richardson's face.'

Someone stepped on stage and started announcing, "Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I am Randy and I will be your host for this auction."

"Today we will be auctioning the blueprints and land for the new Aquarium. I kindly request the auctioneers, Mr. Richardson CEO of Richardson inc. and Ms. Smith, Mr. Roberts assistant, who will be representing the company in his absence, to step on the stage and shake hands to agree to the terms of agreement."

I saw Ms. Smith get up next to me and I saw a tall man with sandy blonde hair, stand up next to Carly. They both walked onto the stage and shook hands and turned around to look at the camera.

Mr. Richardson had blue eyes. I was getting a feeling that I had seen him somewhere, though I don't remember any meeting any James Richardson in my life. Funny...

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**Please review guys. I will really really appreciate it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

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_**The Auction part 2**_

Annabeth's POV:

_Mr. Richardson had blue eyes. I was getting a feeling that I had seen him somewhere, though I don't remember any meeting any James Richardson in my life. Funny..._

I was thinking about why Mr. Richardson felt so familiar, when Randy's voice boomed on the speakers. "Without further ado, let us begin the auction. If I could please ask Ms. Smith and Mr. Richardson, to return to their seats."

I turned my attention to the stage. "The price offered by both companies is 20 billion dollars, is anyone bidding for a higher amount?"

"21 billion dollars" Ms. Smith replied, simultaneously texting the amount to someone on her phone. I assumed it was Mr. Roberts.

"21 and a half" Mr. Richardson announced.

"22"

"24" At this, Ms. Smith got a little weary.

"24 once" She turned a little pale.

"24 twice" She turned even paler. The hall was a little noisy now. Everyone thought that Richardson would get it. But then she received a text and she looked a bit relieved after that. It said _'At any price.'_

"25" She announced and the whole hall turned silent.

"25 once, 25 twice, 25 thrice, SOLD! Congratulations to Ms. Smith and Chase enterprises. I would like to ask Ms. Smith to come over to the office and complete the paper work."

I got up and congratulated Ms. Smith. She just asked me to meet her tomorrow at seven in her office and walked over into the office to complete the paper work.

'At least they weren't stupid enough to lose the auction.' I thought.

I was about to leave when I saw Mr. Richardson chatting with Carly. I walked over to them. "Carly" I called out.

They turned around to look at me. As soon as Mr. Richardson saw me, his expression changed. He looked like he was in shock and then he looked happy and sad at the same time. He seemed to recognize me and I still felt like I had seen him somewhere before.

"Annabeth" she called out. Mr. Richardson's face lit up. Then she faced him and said "Mr. Richardson, this is Annabeth Jackson, the main architect behind this aquarium. She also is my best friend." I watched as Mr. Richardson's smile drop when he heard the word Jackson.

In case you're wondering, no I did not marry or get engaged to Percy (sigh), what do you expect, I was only 17 at that time. I just changed my surname. It just felt right.

"And Annabeth" she turned to me. "You must know Mr. Richardson."

"Just call me James." He replied.

"Nice to meet you James." I shook his hand. It felt weird, like I was shaking hands with a family member.

Just as I was about to say something, his assistant came to him and whispered something in his ear.

"I would to spend time but work calls, I have to leave. I will you again some other time. Good bye." He said and left.

"Bye." We replied.

"He is so amazing, I like him a lot." Carly dragged on.

"I see some has found a new crush" I said. That bought out a pink shade on her cheeks.

"Its nothing like that." She replied.

"Ohhhhh…., we'll see."

"Whatever, he's not my crush. I just met him."

"Love at first sight." I suggested.

"Shut up! Let us go home. You have a big day tomorrow."

"Fine, come on."

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James's Assistant's POV:

"Find out everything about that Jackson girl. I want all the details. Do whatever it takes." The boss said.

'Wow, I thought he took interest in that redhead. I didn't think he would go for the blonde.'

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Annabeth's POV: (again)

We were on the bus back home. Carly's house was on the way to mine, so we got on the same bus.

Carly couldn't stop talking about James. Everything she said was James this, or James that. All I could think about him was about how he seemed familiar or about his expression when he saw me. I thought that I should forget about it, I had to cope with my new, _irritating_ boss tomorrow. I forgot about him for now. But it was hard with Carly talking about him so much._  
_

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That night I was thinking about James when I lay down. I couldn't help it.

'Sandy Blonde hair….. blue eyes….. family….. FAMILY, If he had to be like family, he had to be like a brother….. Brother, B-R-O-T-H-E-R…..'

Then it hit me. Realization struck me with a force harder than Apollo's Maserati at top speed.

'Oh... my... Zeus…'

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**I just love cliffies. Don't you? Read, Rejoice and Review. I sincerely appreciate those who did review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

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_**New Job, New Problems, New Friends**_

Annabeth's POV:

_Then it hit me. Realization struck me with a force harder than Apollo's Maserati at top speed._

_'Oh... my... Zeus…'_

'No! It can't be him. He's dead. I saw him die in front of my eyes. He died in my arms.' It felt like my brain was splitting. For once, though not the first time, I regretted being a daughter of Athena.

'Luke can't be alive.'

'Must be a look alike. A doppelganger. There must be one.'

'But it seemed as if he recognized you too.' Another part of my humungous brain piped up.

'He must have met my look alike.' I reasoned to myself.

'The probability of that is very, very, very small.'

"JUST SHUT UP!" I screamed. "Get some rest. You have a big day ahead. You promised that you will not think about that part of your life until you get your Percy!"

'But you saw Luke' A thought popped up in my brain.

"You are going to forget about that life and everything related to it until you Percy. If that was Luke, he would have talked to me, instead of walking away like that. That was James Richardson. Luke and James are two very different persons, even though they look alike. Luke is DEAD!" I started crying.

I turned around and wept into my pillow. After about an hour of crying, about Luke, about Percy, about my sad life, then about Percy again, I finally fell asleep, only, to welcomed by the usual Tartarus nightmare.

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I woke up at six in the morning. I was worn out by last night's stupid discussion. But I knew I had to get up and get ready quickly, because Ms. Smith asked to be in her office by seven.

I got dressed quickly and got out of the house by 6:30. Even though the office was only a 10-minute walk from my house, I got up early as I had to stop by at starbucks. I ordered a double espresso and made my way to the office.

I walked in at 7:10. "You're late." I heard Ms. Smith say when I walked into her office. She was wearing a tight blue blouse, a tight grey skirt and her stilettos.

"I'm late only by ten minutes." I was furious.

"I don't care, I asked you to be in my office by 7. I'll let you off because this is your first day. I won't spare you if you do this again."

"Fine" I replied, clearly irritated. 'Way to go Annabeth, awesome way to start your new job.' I thought.

She called someone over the phone. A few minutes later, a brunette walked into the office. "Annabeth, let me introduce you to Maria. She will be your assistant. I want you 2 to reach the construction site by 8. She will help you wherever you need it. I want this building finished as fast as possible. Did I make myself clear?"

"Yes" I replied.

"Now shoo, get to work" I said.

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"Is that how she treats her employees?" I asked Maria after we walked out onto the street.

"She's always like that Ma'am. We just do our work and she won't bother us too much, although she can get very annoying at times. But what can we do ma'am. She is our boss."

"Call me Annabeth. I don't like being called ma'am."

"Okay. But I must tell you that the CEO is nothing like her. He is kind, calm, very serious but not towards work. We have never seen him smile, always sad. Hell, we barely see him. But he is always frowning when he does visit."

"Do you know why?" I asked.

"What?"

"Do you know why he never visits?" I remembered my question to Ms. Arrogant.

"No. Although, rumour has it that he is searching for something. I don't know beyond that. I also know that Ms. Smith has a crush on the boss. But she doesn't deserve him. He is too nice. She is too devilish."

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We reached the site by 7:55. 'Not this time Ms. Arrogant. I know you will the call the builder to check on us.' Sure enough, at exactly 8, she called the builder.

By lunch, I had explained the foundation plan to the builders. They got to work immediately after lunch. I sat in a chair by the café counter with a cup of coffee and opened my notebook. I began drawing random pictures that came to my head. I drew a picture of Percy. My thoughts drifted back to the topic of Luke. I strained myself from dwelling too much on that.

'I have to meet James again. I probably won't be able to sleep properly without that. Day after is a Sunday. I'll meet him then.'

Then I realized that I don't have his phone number.

'Carly will have it.' I realized.

I called Carly.

(Annabeth, **Carly**)

"Hey Carly"

"**Hi Annabeth, how is your new job?'**

"It is great, except for the boss. She is a little stingy. Carly, can you do me a small favor?"

"**Yes"**

"Can you give me James's phone number? Don't worry, I won't steal him."

"**Shut Up! And yes, note it down." **

"Thanks. Bye"

"**Welcome. Bye"**

I dialed the number. It ringed for a while then someone picked it up.

"Yes" A voice I recognized as Luke's, that is, James's, replied.

"James, I am Annabeth speaking. Can I meet you sometime? On Sunday if you're free." There was an eerie silence, after I said those words.

Then, he replied "Yes, I am free on Sunday, meet me by the bridge at 6." He sounded like he was scared.

"Thanks, bye."

"Bye" he replied.

The rest of the day was uneventful.

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James's Assistant's POV:

I didn't want to but I heard the boss's conversation over the phone. This sounds interesting. But after the call, I walked in.

"Did you get what I asked for?" The boss growled.

"Yes, here you go, Sir." I handed him the details about that blonde girl, Annabeth.

"Thank You. You may go."

I must find out what is happening. The best way to do that is to visit the bridge by 6 on Sunday.

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**Thanks for the reviews guys. I don't know if there is a bridge in Houston. Forgive me if there isn't. Let's just say there is one for the sake of the story. I will update once every day or once in two days. Once again, Read, Rejoice and Review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

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_**Letters and Presentations**_

Annabeth's POV:

I woke up by 6 in the morning and carried out my usual process. It was nothing out of the ordinary, until I came across the letter. It was on my study table. How it got there, I didn't know. I opened it suspiciously.

_Dear Annabeth, _

_Do NOT visit the bridge on Sunday._

_It is for your own good._

'How did he… or if a girl wrote it, she, come to know of my meeting with Luke. I didn't discuss about it with anyone.'

I called up Carly and asked her if I could meet her now. What surprised me was her reply.

"Annabeth, I am at James's house. I can't meet you now. Can you tell me over the phone?" she replied

"No. I'll meet you in the evening. And what are you doing there?" I asked her.

"We went out for dinner yesterday, and he asked me to visit his house."

"So, you are dating the CEO of Richardson." I teased

"SHUT UP! It's NOT a date."

"Yeah, okay, bye. See you in the evening." I put the phone down.

'I can't let this happen to her. What if she finds out that he is not James? Is he? There's only one way to find out. That is on Sunday.' I thought

'But the letter told you not to go.' Another part of my brain argued.

'Tell the letter and its writer to fuck off.'

Thunder rumbled at a distance.

'That's odd.'

I looked at my watch. 6:50. '_Shit, _if I don't go now, she will be mad at me again. I'll think about it in he evening.' With that I ran out to work.

I reached her office at 6:58. I knocked at her door, and walked in.

"Annabeth, I must say that you are lucky today. Mr. Roberts decided to visit us, to check out how the aquarium is and have a closer look at the plans. I want you to have a full scale, highly detailed presentation about your project ready." She said.

"When is this presentation?" I asked.

"Sunday"

"What?"

"The presentation is on Sunday, at 4 pm, and I want you to stay with him until he is satisfied. Do you have a problem with that?" She asked.

"But-" I was about to reply, but I was intercepted, "Surely you won't, because your job is at stake."

I just nodded. 'Just to explain the whole thing would take 2 hours. To give a detailed analysis would take at least 4 hours. There goes my meeting with Luke. And also, today is Friday. I have only 1 day to prepare for it.'

"You may go."

I walked out of her office. I was so deeply lost in thought that I walked into something. No, someone. I looked up to see a tall man, about my age, looking at me straight in the eye. I noticed that his eyes were a light shade of brown.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see you." He said, as he helped me up.

"No I'm sorry, it's my fault. I was lost in thought."

"It's okay. By the way, I am Steven."

"I'm Annabeth."

"You're the architect. You designed the Aquarium."

"The same one. Well I must be on my way. Otherwise, Ms. Smith will get angry."

"Fine then, I'll see you tomorrow." And with that I left.

I was sitting on the bus. Maria called in sick, so I was alone. 'I wonder what happened to her. She was fine yesterday. And now I have to prepare for that presentation alone. Speaking of which, I finally get to meet him, the real boss of this company, Mr. Roberts.' I started grinning. 'But I have to give up the Luke plan. How can I confirm that James is really Luke? And if I do, how can I tell that to Carly?' I opened up the note I received in the morning. 'And who doesn't want me to visit him?'

Just then, I received a message.

_Can I meet you by the park, today evening at 6? –James_

I thought about it then replied.

_Sure. –Annabeth_

Then I received a reply.

_Thanks –James_

'Today I will solve the case with Luke.' I thought with a smile.

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**Thank You, to those who reviewed. I promise the story will get better than it currently is. I am trying to pull this story up to at least 12 to 15 chapters. More if possible, without dropping the suspense level. So, as always, Read, Rejoice, and Review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

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_**It gets complicated**_

Annabeth's POV:

_'Today I will solve the case with Luke.' I thought with a smile._

I reached the construction site by 8. I thought about my project and hoped for just a regular day, where the only surprise, if possible, would be from Luke. But boy was I wrong.

I walked up to the café counter and picked up an espresso. I have a craving for those. Just as I got to my seat near the café counter, a boy came to me and handed me a letter. I opened the letter. It read:

_Dear Annabeth,_

_Do not visit him today evening. It is for your own good._

I dropped my espresso.

"Who gave it to you?" I asked him.

He pointed to door in the fence and said "A woman gave me this. She pointed at you and asked me to give it to you. She gave me 5 dollars." He held up a 5 dollar bill.

I ran to the fence to find no one there. I ran back to him and asked him "Describe her. How did she look?"

"I couldn't notice much. She was wearing a gray colored jacket with a hoodie. She was looking away, at the building for most of the time. She was taller than you and she had red hair. I couldn't catch her face though." he replied

"Don't you remember anything else? Anything?" I desperately wanted to know about this mystery woman.

"All I remember is that she had a very costly diamond ring. I'm sure that it was a diamond because my father owns a jewelry shop."

"Thank you. Here's another 5 dollars." I handed him the cash., and walked back to my seat.

'How did she know about it already? Is she tapping my phone? And why doesn't she want me to meet him? Meeting him would answer a few of my questions. And I want answers. I have to go, whether she likes it not.' I thought.

Just then, I received a call from Ms Smith.

"Annabeth, I need you to visit my house today. Be at my office by 5. I will send a car to pick you up from there. I want to help you with the presentation, as Maria said she is very ill. Viral fever can be very contagious. And as no one else knows the project so well, it leaves me no other choice. Also, get some night clothes on your way here. We will probably spend the whole night together. The slides and your speech should be ready by tomorrow. That way, you will one day to prepare. So be there by 5 on the dot. Don't be late." And with that, she put down the phone without giving me a chance to speak.

'I missed my chance again. Stupid Ms. Arrogant always times it up perfectly. I make an arrangement with Luke, then the letter arrives, and then she calls me when I refuse to do as the letter tells me to. Wait.'

I pondered over the words I just said. 'I say yes to Luke, the letter tells me not to do, I throw the letter away, and she calls me. Could she be the one who is against my meeting with Luke? The boy told me that she is taller than me. Ms. Smith is taller than me. Could she be the one?' The thought brought a smile to my face. 'If that is true, then why won't she let me meet him? And how do I prove that she is the one?' My face dampened again.

'Great now I have to leave from here by 4, if I want to reach her office by 5. It will take at least half an hour to get there even by car. Wait a second. It takes half an hour to get there. The mystery woman just gave me the letter. If Ms. Smith isn't in her office, then I can almost confirm that the mystery woman is her.' I let out a few more smiles only to be dampened again when I realized that I didn't have anyone's phone number at the office. I had forgotten to get even Maria's. The only number I had was Ms. Smith. I definitely couldn't call her. It would be crazy, like "Hi Ms. Smith, are there in office right now, because I wanted to confirm if you are the mystery woman who has been giving me freakish letters and seems to know exactly where I am and what I'm doing?" I must be crazy to even think of that option.

Just then, my phone rang.

"Hi Annabeth, I'm Steven. Can we meet up today? There's something I want to tell you."

Thank the gods. "Hi Steven, sure we can meet up in office at 4:30. I have to go Ms. Smith's place at 5 for work. By the way, can you just do me a small favor?"

"Yes, anything for you."

"Can you just go to Ms. Smith's office and see if she is inside. Don't go inside. Just look at her from outside and tell me if she is there. Please." I had high hopes on this test. I was clearly craving for answers.

"That's an odd request. But I'll do it anyway. Just wait."

I was so excited, that I didn't realize that I was standing on my toes.

"Let's see….. She's not there." I fist pumped and started jumping.

"Oh wait, she is in the back of the room. I didn't notice her. Yeah, she's here." My smile dropped and was replaced by a frown.

"Why what happened? I don't like it when you're like that." He sounded really concerned.

"It's nothing. I'll see you in the evening." I replied.

"Fine then, I'll see you at 4:30. Bye." He put down the phone.

'Now what? It has only been 10 minutes since the boy gave me the letter. She couldn't have traveled all the way back to her office in 10 minutes. There goes my last string, unless Steven is lying. And how did he get my phone number? What is going on here? Why did my life suddenly get so complicated?'

Ms. Smith's POV:

'I guess it is about time that Flame Boy rescues his beloved from that island. We need him anyway and all the others.'

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**Hold on guys. Because it gets really complex from now. Let's see who do you think who is who in this story. I assure you that I have already written this story and I am not going to change it now. I swear on whatever you want me to. Read, Rejoice and Review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**It may seem as if I am diverting from our main story, but I ensure you that this is part of the main story. I will attach it to the main one in the next 2 chapters.**

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

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_**Wishes do come true**_

Ms. Smith's POV:

'I guess it is about time that Flame Boy rescues his beloved from that island. We need him anyway and all the others.'

Leo's POV:

'I have been searching for her for 5 years, 5 long years, and I still haven't found her. The astrolabe tells me that it is here. The moment I move from here, it starts spinning. I thought I had to wait, and so I waited, waited for 5 years. The astrolabe first pointed to Greece, but then shifted its direction, to here, a place just off Mexico, not too far from the shore. But when I arrived at the spot, it starts spinning, and when I move away, it begins to point back to the place. Many times I felt like giving up. I felt like I should just die. But every time I want to leave or die, I remember her face. That is the reason I am still alive, still waiting for her, still waiting for the island to open up, even if it means that I will die here. Even Festus agreed to help me. I love that dragon. I love you Calypso. I wish I could just her again, at least once.' And with that I fell asleep.

I woke up the sound of wind blowing, engines running, and fire breathing. I ran to the deck. "Festus, what's wrong?"

"Click-clack-clack-cli-cli."

I looked down. "Festus, there's nothing here."

Festus breathed fire and I looked down again.

"Festus there's noth-" Then I saw it. A small opening in what seemed like a veil that covered the island, big enough to fit the trireme, but small enough so that no one could see it from any other place. My heart started racing.

"I guess that hole means green, Festus. What more are we waiting for? Let's go. Calypso, here I come."

'I am going to see her again. I guess waiting for 5 years did pay off. But I still couldn't believe it. I am going to see my first love, the only one who actually loved me back. I have never been, and will never be so happy again, ever in my entire life.' I must say wishes do come true.

Calypso's POV:

'I can't believe that the pain hasn't reduced even a little bit. It has been so long since he left me. I should have been able to cope up with it. I could do that with all the others. But why can't I do that with him? I guess this time, I have fallen for him hard. I don't think I can fall in love with anyone else. I just wish that the gods would let me see him, at least once.' I started crying again.

Just then I heard a loud splash outside. 'No, please. I won't be able to fall in love with anyone else. I would rather have my life taken away. I hate this life anyway. Please no.' I ran inside to hide myself.

I heard footsteps walking into the cave. I covered my ears and tried to hide deeper into the corner. 'No, I won't fall in love with anyone else.'

"Calypso, are you there?" I heard a voice. Though faint through my closed ears, I recognized it immediately.

'No, it can't be. No man can find Ogygia twice. It should not be possible' I shot to my feet and ran out of my hiding place. I saw him standing in the cave entrance.

My brain went dead, I didn't whether to laugh or cry. I did the only thing I could think of. I tackled him. "You came back, for ME. I can't believe it. But how? It should not be possible. Either I am dreaming, or ….. I am….. dreaming."

"No you aren't dreaming Calypso. I am here, in front of you."

"I still don't beli-" I couldn't finish the sentence, not with Leo's lips in the way. I must say, wishes do come true.

Once we were finally done kissing, assuring that this is not a dream and ore kissing, he finally asked me "Calypso, where do you want to go?"

"Where… do I… want… to go?" I stuttered

"Calypso, I promised on styx that I will come back for you and I did. I didn't come back just to say hi and disappear again. I came here to spring you. And take you wherever you want to go."

"You promised on styx?"

"Yes, and I ful-" _SLAP._

"You IDIOT. Don't you realize what you have done. I can't believe that you promised on styx for me. It is a near impossible task to find Ogygia again, and you promised that you would find it on the river STYX." I was furious and really happy at the same time. I didn't know whether the happiness was out of relief or his love for me.

"I did find it now. So it doesn't matter."

"It DOESN"T MATTER. For Zeus's sake, I can't believe that you can be so stupid. I will come with you at least for that reason. To make sure that you won't do any more crazy stuff again." Then I smiled and I saw his lips spread into a wide grin.

"Okay, so where do you want to go?" he asked.

I was about to offer him a choice when I remembered a small incident that happened a while ago, not too long ago, but not too close, I can't judge it, time is difficult on Ogygia.

_(flashback)_

_I was working peacefully in my garden, still bitter about Leo, when I heard a voice behind me._

"_Hello, my dear Calypso." The voice of a female, one I haven't heard in 3000 years._

"_What brings you here… Hera? Have you come to see me cry? Cry over another hero?" My voice was hoarse from crying. But at the same time, my temper was rising as well._

"_No, I have come to give you certain orders which you must follow. I want you to send the next hero who washes upon your shore to the place that is written on this sheet of paper." She handed me a sheet of paper, but I wasn't paying much attention to it._

"_You mean another hero will wash up my shore soon. Why do you have to do this? Why do you have to play with my life? What have I done?" My temper was rising at an alarming rate. I felt like I could kill the Queen of Olympus with just my gardening tools. But she was gone, and she left me crying again. I looked at the piece of paper and realized that I could not understand anything. I started crying again, and finally fell asleep._

_(Flashback ends)_

I ran back to my cave and started searching for the sheet. Leo followed me, worried at was happening. "Bronze bulls, Calypso, what are you doing?"

I found it lying under my pillow. I took it up and handed it to Leo. "Can you understand this?"

"It says _Houston, Texas_ in Spanish. Why what happened?"

"Take me there, immediately. I'll explain on the way." I replied.

* * *

**Please guys review. Positive or negative. If there is anything that I bad at, I will improve on it. You guys must help me realize it. You can do that by reviewing.**

**So once again, Read, Rejoice and _REVIEW_**.


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**I find him**_

_Construction site, 3:45 pm._

Annabeth's POV:

'I can't believe that a single bus hasn't passed by in the last 20 minutes. Have all the buses disappeared. Today is definitely not my day.' I started kicking pebbles.

"Hey, do you need a lift?"

I spun around to see Steven sticking his head out of the car, and waving at me. "Steven, what are you doing here?"

"I was coming back to office after lunch. I saw you waiting, so I came by to offer help. Where do you have to go? You said that you have to go Ms. Smith's office by 5. We can talk on our way to the office." I hopped inside. His car smelled of the sea. I could feel my heart aching at the smell.

"Thank you. But first, let's go to my house. I have to pick up something. Then we can go to the office."

While he was driving, I studied him. He had thick biceps, shabby hair, and an amazing smile. 'He looks so hot…' was the only thought that came to my mind.

"You don't look like you're from Houston." He asked

"No I'm not. How could you tell?"

"You look like a typical California girl in my opinion, except for those grey eyes. They look like intimidating and lost in thought."

I shivered at his answer. I brought back memories of Percy. He used to say that. I fought down the tears.

"Hey, is something wrong? I didn't mean to hurt you."

"No, it's just that you reminded me of someone. Someone I lost, and couldn't find. I still search for him. I don't even know if he is alive." I started to cry. 'No Annabeth, you shouldn't cry. You can't cry in front of a stranger. You must be strong.'

"He is alive."

"WHAT?" I spun around.

"No, I mean, he must be. Don't worry, he won't leave you. No one will. Just, don't cry now, you got to make yourself presentable to the office and Ms. Smith. Go wash your face and come back."

'I didn't notice that we have arrived at my house. Wait, how does he know my address and my phone number? I should ask him.' I washed my face, stuffed a few clothes into my bag and ran back down the stairs.

"Let's go." I said. I decided to ask him now.

"Steven, how do you know my phone number and my address?" I asked.

"Maria."

I accepted. But just then I remembered something. "But I didn't give Maria my address." He seemed at a loss for words.

"She must have taken it from Ms. Smith."

"But I didn't give Ms. Smith either."

"They… have their… ways of getting things. Look, we have arrived at the office." He stuttered.

I accepted his answer, but I still wasn't convinced. I reluctantly stepped out of the car.

"Where have you been? Come on, we have to go now." She dragged me to her car, while got one last look at Steven. Saw him smiling at me, and it brought butterflies in my stomach. I looked at him in the eye and noticed some things that I didn't notice before. There was something shining in his pocket, a pen, a pen that I recognized. And even though eyes were brown, they had a small tinge of green to them, and not any green, Sea green.

'Percy…..'

She pushed me into the car. I tried to get out, but she held me down. She placed a hand over my mouth so that I could not speak.

"mmmphh, MMMMMPHHHH" I screamed.

"Go, now." She yelled at the driver.

"Let me go" I screamed, pushing her hand away. I tried to get out, but I couldn't move. 'She is too strong.'

"You can kiss your boyfriend later. We have much more important things to do now."

"I don't give a _fuck_ about you and your stupid presentation. I have to go meet him NOW." I tried to wriggle out of her tight grip.

"Who told you that this is about the presentation, brainless. We have much more important things to do than some stupid powerpoint presentation."

"You called me BRAINLESS… I am the…"

"Oh, yes, bring it out. The what? Daughter of Athena, is that what you were going to say? Seriously, both, you and your mother have serious pride issues."

I was left stunned. 'How does she know about me.' She released me sensing that I had stopped struggling. I knew enough physics to know that I shouldn't step out of the car now.

"Oh, I know about you Annabeth. And you know about me very well. In fact, this is not the first time I am separating you and that Posiedon kid. We hate each other a lot, don't we? But I can assure you that I am doing this for a reason. I have to bring you all back together, safely. It's what I always do. I am the glue that keeps the house from falling apart." She sneered.

I felt like strangling her… again.

* * *

**They are finally together, well sort of. The answers to the twists will start pouring out soon enough. Read, Rejoice and _Review._**


	9. Chapter 9

**I am sorry for the disappointment, guys. There is more to this story, than what meets the eye. I hope this chapter will explain some things to you.**

******DISCLAIMER: **I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**Wishes and Curses**_

Annabeth's POV:

_I felt like strangling her… again._

"What do you mean bring us back, _safely? _When were _ever_ safe, with you around?"

"I kept you and you're boyfriend safe for years. He doesn't even know who I am. He has been working in this company for about 4 months now. And how do I keep you safe. I believe that you are not so brainless. I'll let you think it out. Why do I keep you apart?" She smiled.

I glared at her. "Can't you just tell me?"

"I am not supposed to speak about it, and neither are you. So just think, don't talk about it." She said.

'I am not supposed to talk about it. And she isn't supposed to talk about it either. I don't understand. Is there something that I am not supposed to put out in words? In… Words… _Shit.'_

I turned to her and she smiled knowingly.

* * *

Reyna's POV:

'I saw the ship, the Argo 2, and before I could get to it, it just vanished. I can't believe it. I just saw a flying greek trireme, vanish into thin air.'

I circled around the point where I last saw the ship. I looked down and saw that there was a hole, big enough to fit the Argo 2. On the other side of the hole, I saw an island.

'I suppose this is where he went.'

I decided to pay that island a visit. I ordered my Pegasus (I named him Rocky.) to go down and land on the beach. As we got closer to the island, I saw the Argo 2. I remembered that it had a stable for pegasii. I ordered Rocky to land on the ship.

'That boy is in for so much trouble.'

* * *

Leo's POV:

"Calypso, have you packed everything you need?"

"Yes, I've packed the gardening tools, the food, and explained to the air servants what they must do in my absence. Now, on our way. We don't have much time to waste." She looked beautiful, even when she was in a hurry. Hell, she looked beautiful all the time.

"Can you please explain what happened?"

"First get on board, and start the engine. I will explain when we are on our way to… _what was that place?"_

"Houston"

"Yeah, that"

I laughed as we climbed aboard the ship.

"Festus, set target location to Houston." I looked back at Calypso. "Get ready to taste freedom, my beautiful lady."

I heard a laugh, but it didn't sound sweet like Calypso. It sounded a little hoarse.

"I didn't know Leo could be such a gentleman. This is so not like you." The voice continued as I started to recognize it. It was hoarse because of all the battle cries and victory speeches. I turned to the source of the voice, Reyna.

My first reaction was shock, but then I realized something. I swung my head around to look at Calypso. She was staring at me. Her glare sent shivers down my body. I felt like running away, screaming for my mom.

"Calypso, It is not what you think, I swear." I replied. Reyna looked confused.

"Why is she here? What is she doing here? I can't believe you lied to me. Just leave me alone." She walked away. For a split second, I was afraid that she might jump off the ship, but she was walking towards the door that led downstairs. I started to run after her.

"What was that about?" Reyna asked, which only resulted in her receiving angry glares from both of us. Reyna looked stunned.

Just as we were crossing the magical borders of the island, Calypso stopped walking. She just stiffened on the spot and fainted.

"Calypso, what happened?" I ran to catch her. Reyna came running after me.

I realized that this was because she left the island, which meant that she could die.

"No, please don't die Calypso. I need you." I turned to Reyna and screamed "Get the ambrosia and nectar."

I turned back to Calypso, kissed her forehead and muttered "Stupid curses."

* * *

Annabeth's POV:

'Now I understand how it all works. It is all so twisted, so delicately twisted, but still just as simple. And perfect. My words in anger on Olympus that night have actually helped me stay alive, and keep Percy safe at the same time.'

_(Flashback)_

_The Throne room, Olympus, 600__th__ floor, Empire state building. The night after the war._

_I walked into the room with tears still flowing down my cheeks. I wanted him back so badly. I was ready to use my wish on him._

_The gods provided each of the 7 Heroes of Olympus (minus Percy as he is in Tartarus), Nico, Reyna and Thalia, with a wish. We can ask for whatever we want, if it is within their capability. I had IMed the council to be present today. All the gods were present, even Poseidon. _

_My mother asked me "What do you want Annabeth?"_

"_I have called you all here to claim my wish."_

"_If it is about Percy, we cannot do anything." Zeus replied._

"_He has saved you all twice. He sacrificed himself for you. He is in Tartarus for all of us. And all you guys do in return is ignore him?"_

"_He is in Tartarus, as you said. We cannot face him." Mom replied._

"_You immortal gods are afraid to face Tartarus, so you leave a mortal demigod to face him instead."_

_My temper rose, I wanted to get away from all these gods and all their lunacy. All I cared about was Percy and I wanted him. I didn't want to see any of these selfish idiots (including Mom) until I had my Percy back._

"_Just leave us alone then. At least you can do that. Make us, Percy and me, invisible to monsters outside Tartarus, and them invisible to us. I don't want to speak about you or any other god, or anything related to the real world, the world of the gods and demigods until I have my Percy. By that I mean kiss him, alive." My words left the gods lost in thought._

_Hera spoke up. "We can do that. This is what you wish for. It will act as a curse as well, broken if you speak a single word about this curse or this world, or if you find and kiss Percy, alive. You and Percy shall be invisible to all monsters outside Tartarus, as that place is out of our bounds. Isn't that what you asked for?"_

"_Yes" I replied._

"_Then you may go, the curse and your wish shall set upon you by midnight. Leave quickly, before the curse takes effect." Hera replied. Mom seemed to dislike the idea. But I couldn't be stopped now._

_I ran out of Olympus, crying and angry, but I felt better than when I walked in._

_(Flashback Ends)_

'This is crazy…' I thought.

* * *

**I thank all those who reviewed. I am so so sorry to those who I have disappointed. I hope this chapter will make up for that. As always, Read, Rejoice and Review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**Explanations**_

Annabeth's POV:

_'This is crazy…' I thought._

"You should not underestimate what you cannot see. I cannot explain now. And while you are with me, call me Sarah." Hera replied.

"How are you hidden? How do you walk around without a single reporter begging you for an interview. Certainly you are well recognized here." I hope she recognized my code words. The smile on her face revealed that she did.

"You are well known as well, maybe a little lesser than I am." I fought down a scowl. No matter whether she was in her actual form or her mortal form, she still made me want to strangle her. "I hide myself, in the same way that you do. I had help from my family in doing so."

"How did you prevent my boyfriend from kissing me, or talking to me, about the world?" I really wanted to know how she did this. For a second I was thinking that Percy didn't want me anymore.

"You ask me, how did I do that? I just blackmailed him against his worst fears, and he obeyed faster than I could convince anyone else." Hera smiled.

"And what were those worst fears of his?" I didn't want to ask, but my curiosity got the best of me.

"He will tell you that when he meets you. It's his decision, whether he wants to let it out or not."

"Fine." I reluctantly kept quiet. Then a thought popped up in my head. "It was you then. You were the person who sent those letters." She nodded. "I thought as much. But I wasn't sure. And how did you keep the blonde boy quiet?"

"He isn't quiet. He sees everything around him. How he is still alive, is a mystery to me. He might not even be with us. That is why I separated you from him." Hera looked concerned. The car stopped. We stepped out of the car. We had stopped at a villa that was by the seaside. It was magnificent. I couldn't help but marvel at the architecture. It was certainly breathtaking.

"You can gape at it all day and all night if you want. But whatever you do, please do not speak out the any such words." Hera warned. "I'll be inside. Come in when you want to."

Just as she was about to leave, I called out to her. "Sarah, why are you specifically protecting me and Steven? I thought you hated us."

"As much as I hate you two, I hate our enemy even more. And he wants only you two, for you affected him and his pride the most, followed by the dead boy. In fact you two were the only ones who faced him personally and still survived. He hates you even more as you were the first to leave his grasp." She replied gravely, and then walked inside.

Her words left me lost in thought. 'Percy and I fought many monsters together. Who could it be? And who is the dead boy?' I couldn't feel the time pass as I was thinking. 'I left first, I hurt his pride, so did Percy, and the dead boy. The dead… boy… _Nico_, and the enemy… _oh shit.'_

Leo's POV:

I tried very hard to hold back my sobs. 'I can't be crying like this. I have to be strong… for her…'

"She is stirring." Reyna said quietly.

I looked at Calypso. Sure enough, her eyes were fluttering, her hand was twitching. Her lips repeatedly formed a single word, which I could just make out, _Leo…_

"Calypso, are you alright? How do you feel?" I was seriously concerned about the recent turn of events.

"I feel fine, just a little… vulnerable… mortal." she said weakly. Her gaze shifted from me to Reyna. I could see a flash of anger spark out in her eyes, but I guess she was too tired to react, she just placed her head on my chest, instead.

"Calypso, I assure you that there is nothing between me and Leo. I just found the Argo 2. Your boyfriend here just randomly disappeared the night after the war. He has been missing for 5 years now. Various search parties from both camps have been arranged to find him, with no luck. We searched all the way back to the ancient lands for this idiot" Calypso laughed "and suddenly, 5 years later, I find him and his ship here. That's why I followed him to his ship. He came to your island alone." Reyna spoke up. Calypso seemed to accept her story. I felt relieved.

"Now Calypso, can you just explain what happened, and why we set course for Houston." I asked.

"Fine, I'll explain." And she told us about Hera's visit.

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**I hope this chapter explained some stuff to you. I want to see how many of you can find out who the villain is. Read, Rejoice and Review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**One more target to Houston**_

Leo's POV:

"Do you know why she asked us to go to Houston?" Reyna asked

"No, I do not." Calypso replied. I could still feel the bitterness in her voice, even after we convinced her that Reyna is not my girlfriend, or lover or anything of such sort. She was still in doubt about Reyna.

"She has a reason. This was clearly planned by her." I could feel their eyes train on me.

"Tia Callida has never done anything so weird and out of place without a reason." I replied. Reyna raised her eyebrows at the name, but Calypso just smiled. She seemed to recognize it from my stories. 'She still remembers your stories' My heart picked up pace. 'Slow down, Leo, you have much more important things to do than dance around Calypso's smile.'

"Tia Callida…" Reyna questioned.

"Hera" Calypso replied before I could.

"You mean that she planned this 3000 years ago when she exiled Calypso to Ogygia, so that one day, a scrawny mechanic, who can light up his hair like a torch, could come and rescue her, so that she can ask him to go to Houston." Reyna continued "If that is true, then Apollo can kiss his job as the god of prophecies goodbye."

"I'm sure it can't be that long ago. She must have planned it sometime after the war against Gaia." Calypso started. "She visited me with the news that the Heroes of Olympus have won the war, and that Leo," she smiled lovingly. I felt the butterflies in my stomach again. "was the real hero who put Gaia back to her slumber. So she must have planned it after the war. But I am still not sure."

Reyna seemed to agree to that. It sounded more realistic. A thought popped up I my head. "Calypso, I have to confirm something. Doesn't each hero who lands up on Ogygia, have to have the permission of a god?"

"Yes" She sounded confused.

"So, Tia must be the one who gave me permission to get you out. Tia must have also known that I was here for you. She could have given me a chance to meet you earlier. She wanted us to wait for something. She wanted me out of the way, out of the way until now. Reyna, can you tell me how you found me?"

"I was on a quest to find a plant that grows only at night. I just found your ship and I forgot about my quest, though I have been searching for about 4 years for that now, with no luck." Reyna replied.

"And who set you up to this quest? Can you remember?" I asked.

Reyna thought for a while and then her eyes widened, "Juno… Juno set me up to this. She told me to work on my other quests, and try to find this in the meanwhile, when I am free. And recently, I heard from somewhere that you find it near this part of USA."

I was about to say _I told you so, _when suddenly, an arrow notched up on the centre mast. Hanging on to it was a piece of paper.

* * *

Thalia's POV:

"WHERE IS THAT IDIOT?" I screamed.

I couldn't think of anything else since his disappearance 2 weeks ago. He was staying over at my house. We wanted to watch a movie, so went out to get one from the local blu-ray rental. We had a friendly argument over which movie he should get. An argument I won. He left and never returned. The last thing I remember is my kiss goodbye. Since then I have been searching for him like crazy. The thought brought back tears. After 2 weeks of continuous crying, I thought I would run dry, apparently not. I searched everywhere for him. I loved him like crazy.

Now, there was only one hope left, Houston. Lady Artemis told me when I quit, that if I ever lost the thing I loved the most, I could find it in Houston. If that string goes, then I might be doomed to never find him, like Annabeth and Percy. Annabeth… I realize that she is much tougher than I thought she was. I laughed at her every time she would cry for Percy, during their 8 month separation. Now I am in awe how she is still alive, if she still is alive. I don't know what happened to her after the war. She just disappeared, like Leo. I suspect that she went in search of Percy. Many search parties were arranged, to find at least one of the 3, with no luck. And then, 1 years after the war, I left the hunters for him. And now he is gone.

I was in so lost in my emotions that I didn't notice a flying ship passing overhead. After a few seconds, I identified the ship, the Argo 2. I couldn't let this chance slip away. I took a piece of paper and wrote

_Leo, I need a lift. –Thalia_

I attached it to one arrow and fired it at the mast. I don't know whether it hit or it missed. Usually it wouldn't miss, but I doubt my aim in these conditions. I was not sure, I thought I had failed, until the ship changed course. The ship hovered above me and a ladder dropped down. I hopped on.

* * *

Leo's POV:

I helped Thalia get on the ship. Once she got on, I reset the course back for Houston.

"Thalia, what in Hades, are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with the Hunters?" I asked. She seemed like she was crying. 'No. The Thalia I know never cries.' I thought

"I quit, for a boy. I hopped on because I need a lift to get to Houston. I hope you can divert course for about a few hours, because this is quite urgent." Thalia replied, with pleading eyes.

I smiled. "There is no need to divert course then. We are heading there ourselves." I saw a slight change in her face. She seemed slightly happier, though still grim. Then Reyna asked her what had happened. She told us the story from the night after I left. About Annabeth's disappearance, about the search parties, about how she left the hunters, about her boyfriend (she never mentioned his name), about Lady Artemis's parting words with her, and about her boyfiend's mysterious disappearance 2 weeks ago.

I listened to the entire story and asked her "So, who did steal your heart?" She fell silent at this. I decided to leave her alone on the topic, as I received murderous glares from both the other girls. No one spoke for a while. I would've cracked a few of the old famous Leo jokes, but the girls would glare at me every time I opened my mouth. Then we told Thalia, the reason why we were on our way to Houston, or rather, the girls did. For some reason, Thalia was staring at me for most of the time. I was happy Calypso didn't mind. I do not want to fight with her.

* * *

That night, I met Thalia alone by the railing on deck. It was my turn to keep guard.

After a long silence, she asked "When will we reach Houston?"

"Tomorrow evening" I replied. I decided to carry on. "Why were you staring at me when they told you the story?"

She was quiet for a few moments, then she spoke "I was awestruck. You waited for 5 years, with nothing, for the girl you love. She was right below you, but you couldn't speak see her, couldn't speak to her, or anything. All you knew, was that she was there." She replied. "I should go in now, must get some rest if I am going to be of any use tomorrow, if we come across a monster, or a goddess who hides innocent demigods from the ones they love." I could understand that she was referring to Hera. Whether it was Hera who took him, I can't be sure until tomorrow.

As she walked to the door, she turned back and said "And Leo, the boy, my love…"

I turned around to face her.

She continued "My love… is _Nico."_

* * *

**Hope you all liked this chapter. This is to all you Thalico shippers. There is much more to the story. So as always, Read, Rejoice, and Review.**


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**All aboard the Argo 2**_

_Saturday morning_

Piper's POV:

'There are times when I just feel tired of the gods, running around for simple and idiotic quests. I don't understand why we have to be called by Hera to deliver a simple note to Thalia. Why can't she just IM her? Or send it through Hermes? Why does she have to gather all of us, me, Jason, Hazel and Frank for this? I thought there would be some bad news, but we reached the hunters just fine.

Just then, Jason stepped out of the main tent, his face, as white as a sheet. He seemed very disturbed. He just stood at his spot.

I walked over to him. "Jason, what happened?" I was starting to get worried. My tone alarmed Hazel and Frank. They walked over to the place we were standing. Then I saw that the envelope is still in his hands. "She is not here?" I asked.

He shook his head. "She left the hunters. She quit. No one knows why."

"She must be here somewhere. We can find her." Hazel spoke.

"No. We don't know how far she could have gone. She quit… 4 years ago." He says with a weird expression, one of surprise, shock, and concern, not an expression I usually see on his face.

"Don't worry, we'll find her, she'll be okay. You know Thalia, she's a very strong person. She can survive out in the wild, all by herself. I don't think she will be alone anyways." I say. He nods.

"We'll find her." He repeats.

Just then I find something flying at a distance, and I look up at it. It doesn't look like a bird, or a plane. It looks more like a ship. A flying greek trireme, the Argo 2, Leo.

"LEO!" I scream, waving my arms, though a rational part of me suggests that they can't hear me or see me. The others see it and they start screaming too.

"He can't hear us" Frank said.

I turn to Jason, "Can you fly up there and make him come here?"

Jason nods. "On it." And he flies off towards the ship. I let out a sigh of relief. 'I know Leo is alive. He's the only one who can control that thing, the only one who Festus will allow, and the ship went missing the same night he did.'

* * *

Calypso's POV:

I still am wary about Reyna, Thalia is fine though. She is searching for her missing boyfriend. Yesterday night, I overheard her speaking with Leo on the deck. I wonder who this Nico is. And when she returned, I gave her the plant she was looking for, the plant that only grows at night. I hoped that it would make her feel happier.

I was sitting on deck with Leo holding my hand. His hand felt very warm. I'm sure it is not just from his ability with fire. It brought a sense of comfort and a feeling of hope, hope that I will lead a better life, with more friends and not be cursed by the gods to live broken hearted on an isolated island. I have indeed made friends with Thalia, though I am still not the type who talks a lot. Reyna and Thalia were sleeping on the deck. I am not good with people in any case. I was just looking out at the forest when I see something flying, something bigger than a bird. "Leo, look at this, something is coming at us." I pulled him.

Leo's empty hand immediately caught fire, as if he was ready for battle, mine drifted to my knife. Reyna and Thalia woke up, and rushed to our side, weapons ready, Reyna with a sword and Thalia with her bow and arrow. I got ready to strike. I could see that the creature looked blonde in color from the front. I realized it was a human or a demigod. The others let go of their weapons as if they recognized him. I put away my knife. 'If they find him as a friend, I should too.' I thought.

He landed on the Argo 2. Leo walked over to him as if he was a good friend. "Jason, man, its good to see y-" Jason punched him in the gut. Leo stepped back, and I ran to his aid.

"Back off" I shouted at Jason. But Leo chuckled behind me "Its okay, Calypso, he's just angry I left him. He is Thalia's younger brother, and my best friend. His girlfriend, Piper is like my sister." I looked at Thalia. She seemed happy. But I don't understand why Reyna seemed very sad. How were Jason and Reyna related?

Jason kept on staring at Thalia, as she walked over towards him. She put her arms around him. He seemed stunned. He then handed over a piece of paper to her, and said "We were sent to find you, by Hera. She asked us to give you this envelope. She said it was very urgent." He halted. "Thalia, why did you leave the Hunters?"

Thalia seemed lost in thought. She just held the… what was that… envelope… in her hand. "I fell in love… with Nico"

Jason didn't reply to this. He just stood there. Reyna spoke out "Thalia, open it. It's from Hera, or Juno, and it's urgent. It must be important. Read it out, if it's not personal."

Thalia opened the… envelope… and pulled out a piece of paper, and started speaking. "Dear Thalia, take the hunt, and your friends with you."

"Piper, Hazel, Frank and the Hunt are down there in the forest, we must go get them." Jason said, pointing to a place in the forest. "I'll show you, follow me." With that he flew off.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's go get them." Leo ran off to change course and follow Jason.

* * *

Soon, many more people climbed aboard. Most of them, girls, dressed in green, with bows and arrows. Along with them, a girl dressed with unevenly cut hair in an orange shirt with the letters CHB printed on it, like the shirt Jason is wearing, a boy, very muscular and a girl, with dark complexion, both wearing a purple shirt, on it the letters SPQR were printed, similar to the shirt Reyna is wearing.

The girl in the orange shirt runs up to Leo, half crying, half angry and slaps him, hard. I get defensive again, but this time, I don't react. I know these people are friendly. She must be the one who Leo called sister… what was her name again… something like… Piper.

Leo said smiling "Beauty Queen, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" she keeps hitting him, not too hard, the others are laughing.

"SORRY... YOU IDIOT, YOU DISAPPEARED FOR 5 YEARS. I WAS SO WORRIED, WE WERE ALL SO WORRIED. AND NOW YOU ARE HERE, LAUGHING. HOW DO YOU EVEN HAVE THE NERVE TO LAUGH?" she screamed. Everyone on board was looking at them. She didn't seem to care.

"I went out in search of Calypso." He pointed at me. I blushed. "I fell in love with her the time I disappeared near Malta. I searched for her for 5 years. I found her just yesterday." He said.

Piper turned to me. "Oh" she said. Her gaze shifted from Leo, to me, then back to him. Then she walked over, offered a hand and said "Hi, I'm Piper" I took her hand.

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**Read, Rejoice and _Review_**


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**The enemy**_

Annabeth's POV:

_Her words left me lost in thought. 'Percy and I fought many monsters together. Who could it be? And who is the dead boy?' I couldn't feel the time pass as I was thinking. 'I left first, I hurt his pride, so did Percy, and the dead boy. The dead… boy…__Nico__, and the enemy…__oh shit.'_

_I shuddered at the thought of his name. 'Tartarus…'_

_'__I can't believe that this is who our enemy is. Now it all fits together. Why Hera is afraid. Why she would go to such a length to protect us. One of the only people she hates more than me. She would go to any length to stop him. If it's me who he wants, then she will protect me.' I realized. I ran inside._

_I found Hera sitting in her room. "Sarah, is it… __him.__" I gasped._

_She looked back at me, studying my eyes. She stared for a few seconds and then smiled and nodded her head. "Yes"_

_I crumbled to my knees. My worst nightmare has just come true. Of all the monsters that Percy and I faced, it had to be him. For most of the others, this is going to be a shock, finding out that Tartarus is not a place, but a creature. But for me, I have never been so worried. Just then I remembered, Percy…_

_"__We have to get back Per-…centage of the shares." I faltered. Hera gave me an angry glare. "Steven, he is in too much trouble. We can save him during this project. Why didn't you bring him along?" I asked._

_"__You would have kissed him instantly, without waiting for me to explain. Even now, if I bring him, I doubt you can keep yourself from kissing him, or speaking such words. Even if you can, miraculously, he can't, he doesn't have that self control." Hera reasoned._

_"__I suppose that would be half true, I can keep myself together pretty well. He can't."_

_"__Well, I'm not willing to take that risk." Hera said._

_I had a different dream last night, for the first time in 5 years. The characters were still the same, Percy, me, and Tartarus, but this time, we were on top of the earth, and not in Tartarus. This time, Tartarus killed Percy, right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything about it. I watched him die in front of me, I started crying, badly. Tartarus opened his mouth to speak, but out of his mouth, I could only hear a weird beeping sound, no words. The beeping got louder and louder._

_Suddenly, I am on my bed, in Hera's mansion. I start crying. 'Control, Annabeth, it's only a nightmare.' I tell myself._

_I slowly dragged myself into the bathroom, still tired from the nightmare, and got ready. Once I did that, I walked over to Hera's room. Her room was on the other side of the mansion. _

_We heard some noises from outside, people screaming and yelling. I thought this was a quiet, secluded place. We looked out of the window and saw the guard arguing with someone. I looked at Hera. She looked back. Then we ran downstairs and out to the front gate._

_As we run up to the guard, I can see that is arguing with 2 people, a blonde man, and a redheaded woman… Luke and Carly._

_The guard looks at us. "Ma'am, these two folks say that they know her." He pointed at me "And they want to meet her."_

_Carly spoke up "Annabeth, what is the meaning of all this? Is James's real name Luke? What is all this he says, that he is a demi-"_

_Hera cut her off. "Enough" She looked at the guard and said "We'll take them in."_

_She looked back at Carly. "Don't utter a single word."_

_Luke spoke out, "Why shouldn't we speak about our world, about demigods?" I tried to close my ears before he said it, but I couldn't help but hear that word. Thunder rumbled at a distance. I turned to look at Hera cautiously. She was glaring so angrily at Luke, that I felt he would be better off dead than alive in front of her. She slowly opened her mouth and muttered "It's broken."_

At first I was happy that I could now talk to her directly about all this. But a little thought made its way though my mind, and left me terror struck.

_'Percy…'_

Piper's POV:

"Hi, I'm Piper." offering my hand. She took my hand, nervously. From what I know about her, I suspect that she is not so good with people, given that has been torn away from them at least 3000 years. She also keeps giving nervous glances to the Hunters. Speaking of which, I notice Thalia, speaking with the hunters. They all seem to be asking her something, I suppose they're asking her reason why she left them.

I looked back at Calypso. He left us all for 5 years just for her. She must mean a lot to him. "Why don't you come down with me Calypso? I want to hear your story, about how Leo brought you here."

She looked at Leo, then back at me. "Fine, come on."

I smiled and she smiled back. I might like this girl. Leo is lucky for that. The both of us ran down to her room (I can't believe Leo made an entire room specifically for her on the Argo 2) she explained the entire story, right from when she first met him, to the moment Jason landed on the ship. What worried me was when she got to the part of Hera's note, and Thalia's story. I remember that Hera was the one who sent us on this quest, to find Thalia. 'I know that Hera is planning something, and I don't like it, anymore than I liked her plans last time.'

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**Sorry, I didn't update. I wasn't free. So, as always, Read, Rejoice, and _REVIEW._**


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**The fighting begins**_

Percy's POV:

I was wearing blue tracks, and a grey T – shirt. I was still in bed. I had an amazing dream last night, about Annabeth. 'Annabeth…' I thought.

I don't know what to say, I saw Annabeth leave, right in front of me yesterday. Ms. Smith took her away for that project of hers. Her eyes looked just the way they were before, as they processed a million thoughts, all at once. Her hair also looked the same, a small strand that keeps falling into her eyes. She is… beautiful. The best part is that she still loves me. I can't believe that she changed her name to Annabeth Jackson. Well, actually, I can.

I just want to see her again. I want to hold her in my arms, stare into her beautiful eyes, and lean in for a long, deep kiss. I want to hold that kiss until we run out of breath. What ever happens this time, I won't let her go.

I still feel guilty for breaking her promise. The promise I made to never let her go. I hope she can forgive me for that.

Suddenly, I felt a strong breeze blow by me, the air around me glowed with some kind of golden powder. I felt something different about this, like something was being taken from me. I looked at my window, but I noticed that it was closed, and so were all the doors. I opened the window and looked out. The sight made me jump back at least 5 feet.

I saw at least 4 cyclops, 5 venti, and 3 empousa. I clutched the pen in my pocket, Riptide. I realized that I could face them, but not all at once. I would be better if I was with Annabeth, she would have a plan. Then I remembered, 'Annabeth… at Ms. Smith's place, all alone.' I shuddered at the thought Then, my phone started beeping, a message. I wanted to shut it off, as the signal attracts monsters, but I decided to open the message, once I saw who the sender was… Annabeth.

Annabeth's POV:

_At first I was happy that I could now talk to her directly about all this. But a little thought made its way though my mind, and left me terror struck._

_'Percy…'_

I felt hopeless, Hera warned me that Tartarus's army is really big. Now I've left Percy in the middle of it, while I am safe, here. I slowly turned to the one who destroyed our plan, Luke. I gave him a look of pure hate. He backed away after looking at me. I was about to go all out and attack him, but Hera put her arm on my shoulder and said "Inform him, send him my address by message, st least he will know where to go. I will take care of this _idiot._"

I ran back inside. I ran to my room and grabbed my phone. I typed out a message for Percy. Then I remembered I don't have the address of this place. I gave myself a face palm, and ran back down to Hera, panting.

I held out my phone "You never gave me your address." She took the phone and typed out her address. I was about to press send when I remembered something, I typed it in and pressed send.

Percy's POV:

I opened the message.

_Meet me at this address. Come as fast as possible._

_No. 15, Madison street, Houston._

_-Annabeth_

_P.S. I love you, Seaweed brain._

My heart was racing. "She recognized me, she recognized me, I can't believe it!" I screamed.

I stopped only when I saw the venti outside. I grabbed my keys and ran downstairs. I opened the front seat of my car, and hopped in. I started the car, just as a Cyclops noticed me. I guess I smelled like demigod again. It started towards me. "Oh boy, here goes nothing."

Leo's POV:

It was a bright and sunny day, the kind of day I imagined I would go out on a picnic with Calypso, not the kind of day I would be following Tia's orders. I wonder what she is up to this time. I looked back at Thalia, she seemed worried. "Don't worry Thalia, we'll find him. Besides, Nico is really strong. He can take care of himself." Thalia looked at me and I thought I saw the faintest smile break out on her lips.

She replied "If Hera is asking us to bring this entire army to Houston, then I can't even imagine the danger lurking in that place. She asked us to bring over 5 of the seven, the hunters, Reyna, Calypso and myself to that place. And has Olympus shut down, AGAIN!"

Her words caught me on the edge. "What, Olympus has shut down, again?"

"Yes, that's what Jason told me. The Hunters said the same thing. Phoebe told me that the last time Artemis contacted them was about 6 months ago. I don't what is happening, but I don't like it. I hate it even more because Nico is missing." Tears welled up in her eyes.

I was about to comfort her, but fate willed otherwise. One of the Hunters shouted "Incoming! A group of 20 venti, are following us."

I helped Thalia to her feet and she ran downstairs to alert the others. I ran to the control panel, and activated the weapons. The hunters locked their bows and arrows. Phoebe raised her hand, and screamed "FIRE!"

I fired the cannon, the first few venti avoided it but I managed to kill one. The hunters shot down 3 more, before the storm spirits managed to reach the ship. Jason and the others burst on to the deck. Jason flew off to chase one of the spirits, Frank changed into a dragon, and flew after two more breathing fire. Piper was charmspeaking two of them upon fighting each other to death. Festus was breathing fire at one of them. Hazel was slashing at them with her spatha. Thalia started shocking a venti. Reyna was chasing them on her Pegasus.

I searched around for Calypso. I found her standing in the middle of the deck… doing nothing. I ran up to her. "Hey, we could use some help."

She stared at me.

"Hey, they are the ones who are attacking us. We should stop them." I said.

At that she looked back up at the venti. She raised her hand and snapped her fingers.

A bright flash, and all the venti were gone. I was staring at her, mouth open wide. All the people on board were staring at her.

She looked back at me and smiled at my expression. "I guess you should find your jaw, before I sweep it off the ship. I hope that's enough a help for you."

I smiled, and kissed her. Someone shouted "Get a room" I'm sure that was Jason. The hunters snorted in disgust. We both broke up and blushed. 'That was one of the best kisses ever. I hope we can do this many more times. I love it.'

* * *

**Guys, I really NEED those REVIEWS. I won't post the next chapter until I get some. Read, Rejoice, and _REVIEW__._**


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

**_Meet an old Friend... not really_**

Annabeth's POV:

_I was about to press send when I remembered something, I typed it in and pressed send._

I stood there for a few moments, thinking about Percy's situation, how close we were, before Hera separated us, again. We were in the same car for about an hour. And the day before, I ran into him, I looked into his eyes, no, his contacts. He held me in his arms. I kept wondering how he felt about that, seeing me after a long time, holding me in his arms again. I wonder how he felt about it.

Luke's screams brought me back to present. I turned to him, my anger returning. I ran up to him and pushed him away from Hera. He fell back on to Carly, bringing her down with him. He looked surprised.

He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off "Luke, do you even realize what grave danger you brought upon us. Percy is now in between that army of monsters, fighting his way to get here. You endangered his life, again." I screamed. He kept his mouth shut.

Carly spoke up "You mean all this is true, that monsters do exist, and that you are all demigods." I nodded. She looked shocked. "But why can't I see any?"

"Because the mist, a magical veil, prevents you from seeing it. Now enough about that. Hera, we must go save Percy." I said.

Hera seemed to consider this. "No, we must wait for the others."

"Others. Who else is coming to the party?" I asked.

"The rest of the seven, Thalia, the hunters, Reyna, and Calypso" My heart sunk when I heard the last name. 'Why did she have to come? Sure she might be a goddess who is good at magic, but did she have to come. And how did she escape from her island?'

I turned to Luke and asked him something that had been bothering me. "Luke, how did you come back alive?" Carly seemed surprised.

Luke's lips spread into a smile. "You see, when Thantos was chained, Gaia brought me back from the dead, as I gave my body to her son. She did not know that I was the one who killed him in the end. After I came back alive, my father, hermes found me and hid me away from the rest of the world. He gave me a disguise as James. He also kept me away from everyone who knew me. Being the god of communication, he also didn't let any media telecasts that featured my photo, come to the notice of any of you. I don't know why he didn't do that for you."

"Because Olympus has been closed for the past 6 months. I've lived outside my home for 6 months. Hermes has been keeping you away from me. That's why I couldn't detect any thing about you." Hera seemed ready to burst. I felt sorry for Hermes at the moment, even though I wasn't on good terms with him. Thinking about Hermes brought back memories of that night in Paris. For our first month anniversary, Percy took me to Paris, using Hermes's help, an exchange for a quest we completed for Hermes, rescuing his staff. 'I really hope Percy is alright.' That was all I could think about right now.

* * *

Percy's POV:

I rammed on the accelerator, the car reaching 70 mph. 'I don't think I will survive this if I stay inside, I've played enough gta to know how this will end. Except now, I don't have infinite lives.' I jumped out just as the car smashed into the Cyclops, killing it.

"There goes my ride." I huffed. I looked around for any more. Of course, I found them staring at me. I scrambled for the pen in my pocket. I drew it out as another Cyclops rushed to attack me.

It swung, aiming for my head with its club. I ducked and lunged at its feet. In one sweep, I knocked it down and then I slammed my blade into its stomach. It turned to dust. I ran to the next one and swiftly killed it in one swipe across its chest. 'Thank the gods, I'm still good at this.' I looked up to see that the venti were gone. I looked down again.

A shiver crept up my spine after I saw the empousa standing in front of me. She jumped up and clawed at my chest. I swung at her and she jumped on to my back. Her face changed into a beautiful woman, a woman I recognized. She spoke in an eerie tone, dragging the words too long. "Oh… Percy, how are you, darling…?"

When the name came to my mind, I almost dropped Riptide in shock… and fear.

"Kelly…" I breathed. She smiled as she placed her claws on my left shoulder, ready to pierce them.

I slammed the butt of my sword into her stomach, pushing her off my back. Her claws cut open a large wound on my left shoulder. I caught my arm in pain.

I tried to ignore it and swing at her, but the other empousa jumped on my back and dug her claws into it. I drove Riptide into her stomach and she vaporized. But the attack gave Kelly enough time to get to her feet. She ran up to me and lunged for my stomach. I sidestepped and swung at her with Riptide, the pain in my left shoulder screaming for rest. I chose to ignore it.

"I want you dead, Percy Jackson, but unfortunately, the boss wants you alive. He wants to kill you himself. He is especially keen on you and your girlfriend. I cannot disobey him, even though I want to do it so badly." Kelly screamed.

I ignored her, or at least I tried. The battle in my mind gave her enough time to run up to me. She swung her claws at me. I dodged her at the very last second, though she nicked my side. I swung at her. I was so busy with her, that I didn't notice the Cyclops, and empousa catch me from behind. They threw riptide away, into the trees nearby.

"Hah, Percy Jackson, I will now take you to the boss. Catherine, go get a car, we'll take him there." Kelly spoke to the empousa standing next to me.

"Why do I have to go get it? You go get it." Catherine argued.

"Because I fought him, and I can fight him again if he tries to escape.' Kelly shouted.

"Well, you were losing anyways. You would have never caught him without me." Catherine was also raising her voice. I felt Riptide in my pant pocket.

"Oh yeah, let's see you try. We'll see who is stronger."

"Yeah, come on."

They were about to fight. I grabbed Riptide, uncapped the pen and in one stroke, I killed the Cyclops. The empousa looked shocked. I slashed at Catherine and killed her, instantly.

Kelly seemed to back away, and for the first time, I'm seeing an emotion that I've never seen in her eyes, fear, and I felt happy about it.

"You know, Kelly. You were right, you are stronger than Catherine. But unfortunately, she was right too, you are not stronger than me." I slashed at her, she exploded into dust.

"Now, I must get to Madison street." But unfortunately, my body screamed otherwise. I couldn't walk that well. I opened my phone, and typed out a message.

_I love you too, Annabeth –Percy_

I pressed send. I walked over to the nearest car and broke open the door with Riptide. I turned on the car using the wires (Thank the gods, I listened to Beckendorf when he tried to teach me that). I stepped on the gas, and made my way to Madison street.

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews guys. Read, Rejoice, and _REVIEW._**


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**Reunion…I don't think so**_

Annabeth's POV:

My heart leaped for joy when I received Percy's text. I was feeling really girly about my actions, but I didn't care. I was literally dancing. 'Aphrodite would so proud of me.'

Luke and Carly were staring at me, while Hera walked back inside.

I stopped, but inside, I still felt those butterflies in my stomach. It was like the first time we actually kissed, that amazing underwater kiss left me dazed for a few hours afterwards.

I sighed, and turned to the house. I felt Carly grab my elbow. I turned to look at her.

"Is all this true?" she asked me.

"Yes, it is true, as much as I am alive, and standing in front of you." I replied.

I would have turned back to walk into the house, but something caught my eye, something big, at a distance. "Carly, run. Run inside NOW! Call Hera."

She obeyed. I threw Luke a dagger, not the same one which he gave me when I was young, that was lost when I fell into Tartarus. I drew out my Drakon bone sword. At a distance I could see a horde of centaurs, stampeding their way to our mansion.

"Is that all you are going to give me? How do you expect me to fight centaurs with a dagger? And when did you get a sword?" Luke pouted.

"Fine then, would it be better if I take that back. You can go fight them with your hands. I could use that dagger in battle." I snapped.

"No, its fine, I'll take the dagger."

I charged at the centaurs, dodging their arrows. One whizzed past my ear, and another nicked my arm. I slashed at the arrows and dove down at their feet when they reached me. I slashed at their limbs, sending them tumbling down, while Luke killed those who fell down. I was thankful the long reach of my sword. I didn't have to worry about their hooves, only their arrows.

Hera came down. "ANNABETH, LUKE, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" She screamed. I half ran, half stumbled away from the horde of centaurs. They shot arrows at me, one pierced into my stomach. Pain shot through my body. I tried to walk, but I stumbled over a dead centaur, and fell down. They were gaining on me, completely ignoring Hera and the others.

And then it came, an explosion sent me flying a few feet into the air. I felt like a rag doll, being tossed around like that. I slammed into a tree. My vision blurred. I looked back at the mansion. The others were running towards me, screaming. Funny though, I couldn't hear them, I smiled at them, and then, everything turned black.

* * *

Percy's POV:

That car saved me a lot of time. Of course, monsters still followed me, and so did the police, but I could lose both quite easily.

That was, until I came face to face with a bunch of hell hounds. I ran into the first one, killing it. But like the Cyclops, it left a huge dent in the hood, causing the engine to fail. I leaped out of the car, just as it ran into another hellhound and exploded. The next one leaped at me, I ducked underneath it and drove riptide upwards into its stomach. It exploded like the other monsters. I turned to the last hellhound, and killed it after knocking it out with the butt of my sword.

Luckily, all this happened, right next to Madison street. I walked into Madison street, searching no.15. I could find it immediately, a huge villa at the end of the street. The front porch seemed like an explosion just occurred there. If that is indeed the house where Annabeth is at the moment, then a blast could have been good. I ran as fast as I could with my bruised body. I made it there in 10 minutes. Luckily no monsters came in the way. I ran to the door and banged at it. I didn't want to see the debris, it made me sick to think that maybe Annabeth was there at that point. I tried to brush that thought aside. I put riptide back in my pocket.

After a long wait of 10 seconds, the door opened to reveal a redheaded girl.

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"Can I meet Annabeth?" I asked her.

Her expression changed. She looked scared when she heard Annabeth's name.

"Who are you?" she asked warily.

Just as I was about to answer, someone else walked out in front of me, a tall man, with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Luke…" I hissed. My hand ran to my pocket, ready for combat.

"Hello again, Percy. You're here for Annabeth, aren't you? Come upstairs with me. I'll take you to her." He said.

Even though I didn't want to, I followed him upstairs. He led me into a room.

What I found there was not what I was hoping for…

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter is shorter than some others. I will make up for it in the next one. But guys, I need more reviews. Read, Rejoice and _REVIEW._**


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**Love is in the air**_

Leo's POV:

Why are so many monsters attacking us? Ever since that first attack from those venti, we've come across nearly 50-60 monsters, of all kinds. I looked over the railing and saw hordes of cyclops, skeleton warriors, hellhounds, empousa, many more, I couldn't name. All I knew was that there is something going on in Houston, something big.

The hunters were constantly on guard. Many of them were hurt. Our medical supplies were almost over. I never expected that I would need so much. I was prepared for a trip to the island and back, not this. Calypso couldn't fight any longer, she is our best healer, but she is also mortal now. Piper and Hazel took her spot, for the time being.

I walked down to her room. She didn't fall asleep. Instead she lay down, but her eyes wide open. She didn't notice me as I crept up to her from behind. I cuddled her. She turned around and stared at me. 'She has beautiful eyes.' Was all I could think about.

"I thought sleeping beauty needed a kiss to be woken up." I said. She stared at me, confused.

I realized, "Sorry, I keep forgetting that you don't know all these fairytales. Sleeping beauty is one of them."

She still looked confused. "Fairy… tales…"

"A company called Disney, makes movies for kids. They are mostly fairytales, stories of princes and princesses, with magic and stuff. I'll show you those movies once we get through this."

"Fine, you show me a fairytale once we get out this mess. I want to see that one which you just told me now, what was it called… sleeping…" she said.

"Sleeping Beauty."

"Yeah, I want to see that one first. What is it about?"

"It's about a beautiful girl who is cursed by a witch, that she will sleep until a handsome prince comes and kisses her. You are beautiful, you are supposed to be sleeping, and I wanted to kiss you, so I called you that."

"I guess my prince has already woken me up, though I wouldn't mind a kiss." She said teasingly.

"Baby, you could have told me that before I talked my mouth off." I kissed her.

It wasn't a light kiss like the one we had on the deck, or a fleeting one like that kiss she gave me 5 years ago. This one was slower but deeper. I slid one arm around her hip, while the other cupped her cheek. I pulled her closer with my arm. She pulled her arm around my neck and brought me closer. Then she did something I never expected her to, she pushed her tongue at my lips, asking permission for her to enter. I was startled but I quickly caught myself and let her in. She explored my mouth, while I kept sliding my hand against the now exposed skin near her hip. Our love making got more intense as time flew by. We might have gone further, but they had to come at the perfect time.

Jason and Piper were standing at the doorway to Calypso's room. "Guys, when I asked you to get a room, I didn't mean right now." Jason scowled.

Both of us blushed. Calypso seemed as red as a tomato. I guess I might not have been any better.

"What happened? Another monster attack? Why do you look worried, Piper?." I asked.

"No, no monster attacks. But you disappeared for almost an hour. Of course, I'll get worried. I lost you for 5 years, I won't lose you again." Piper's eyes were wet.

I smiled. "Beauty Queen, you will never lose me again. I'm stuck to you like superglue. And from now, Calypso will be with me too. You don't have to worry about me. I have Calypso and she has me." Calypso smiled at this.

"Yeah, I'll take care of Leo, though I don't think he will be able to help save me, he'll have to be able to save himself first." Calypso said as Piper and Jason started laughing.

"I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF PRETTY WELL, SLEEPING BEAUTY." I said, but I was laughing too. 'I hope the rest of life goes on like this, Calypso at my side, with Jason and Piper, laughing happily, without any monster attacks, or deadly prophecies, or evil earth goddesses.'

Just then, Thalia ran down and burst into the room. "Oh, there you guys are, we have a monster attack, come up, onto the deck, NOW." And she ran off.

'I just had to think of that. Oh well, being a demigod has its perks, like having a beautiful goddess as your girlfriend.'

Percy's POV:

_What I found there was not what I was hoping for…_

I found Annabeth spawled out on the bed, her clothes bloody and burned. A woman was sitting next to her in a chair, her hands in front of her face. For a second, I thought Annabeth was… dead. But then I saw movement, her chest expanded and then contracted and then expanded again, she was breathing. I let out a sigh of relief.

I walked over to the woman, and put my hand on her shoulder. She spun around. The face I saw was not one which I could not recognize, but it left me shocked. "Hera…" I breathed, barely audible, but she heard me.

"She got a concussion. I caused an explosion, to kill a pack of centaurs. They surrounded her, so she got hit as well. They also sent an arrow through her stomach." She pointed to a wound near her stomach. "She has been like this for about 2 hours now. She will wake up in a few hours. It will be difficult for her to walk for a few days. But she will be perfectly normal in a week." Hera continued.

I looked back at Annabeth. She seemed peaceful, even when she was shot in the stomach with an arrow. I bent down and kissed her forehead. I must be imagining, but I think I saw a small smile form upon her lips. I smiled.

"Come on, let me explain what happened in your absence, then you can tell me what happened to you, after you escaped from Tartarus. Meanwhile, we'll get you cleaned up on your wounds."

"No, let's sit down here. I don't want to leave her alone even for another second." I refused to go out.

"Okay then, I'll call Carly to help you with your wounds." She walked out of the room, screaming for Carly, I assume it was that redhead.

I looked back at Annabeth. She still looked beautiful. I slid down next to the bed and held her hand. I looked at her Drakon blade, it was placed next to the bed. All my happy memories with Annabeth flashed before my eyes. At last, I was reunited with her again, and even if we are surrounded by so many monsters, I was happy. I kissed her forehead again and whispered "Wake up, Wise girl, your Seaweed brain is here again, and this time, he'll never let you go." At that moment I realized, I loved her too much to let her go, and I shouldn't have let her go back then. But now I'm not going to make the same mistake again. I just love her too much…

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**This one is for the percabeth and caleo shippers. I'll get back to the action in the chapter. As always, Read, Rejoice and Review.**


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

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_**The search begins**_

Leo's POV:

Once we got rid of the monster issue, everybody went back to what they were doing. Jason and Piper were drinking something from the café (I made one when I was searching for Calypso, cool huh.) Calypso was just standing near the control panel with Reyna, I didn't like the sight of that. Hazel and Frank disappeared off to who knows where. The hunters were counting they're arrows or tweaking their bows. I called out to everyone. "Okay people, I guess this as far as we can go aboard this ship. Thalia…" I turned to her. "Where should we look for the dead man?"

"I… don't know" Thalia stammered.

"WHAT?" Jason spat out what he was drinking, Piper dropped her drink, the hunters stopped working on their weapons, Hazel and Frank just magically appear, Reyna's eyes widened up, while Calypso just sighed, as if she knew about this already.

"You mean to say that you have no clue where we can find him. He might be anywhere in this city, Zeus's underpants, he might not even be in the city." Jason protested.

"No, he's in this city, that's for sure." Thalia replied.

"How will we find him then?" Phoebe continued.

Calypso chose this opportunity to speak to them "If the city has so many monsters, and Nico is a son of the big three, so he can't just walk around this place, unnoticed. He must have already been captured by them. So the best place to find him would probably be at the place where there are he most number of monsters. I am sorry Thalia, but there is no other possible way Nico might be in this city." I was awestruck at my girlfriend's awesomeness. She was beautiful, kind, fun, smart, she is a goddess and the best part is, she loved me. Turns out, I was staring at her like she was my world, which by the way, she is.

"Fine then, we'll do that, once your boyfriend stops drooling all over the ship." Reyna gestured to me as she giggled with Calypso. In fact the whole ship started laughing, Thalia included, even though she was still depressed that her boyfriend has been captured.

I quickly snapped out my trance and glared at Reyna. I was happy that she and Calypso could make peace. But I noticed that Reyna had a slightly disappointed look in her face. I couldn't tell what was bothering her though.

"But how will we get through the city without attracting too many monsters and how can we search such a big city on foot? It may take days to do that. Since we have so many demigods with us, all monsters would come to us. We will never find the place." Phoebe questioned.

"I suggest we split up, you hunters split up how ever you want to, the rest of us will go in groups. Jason, me, Hazel and Frank in one group, Leo, Calypso, Thalia, and Reyna in the other." Piper suggested. We all agreed to her plan.

"But what will Festus do?" Calypso asked. Festus squeaked and cranked.

I turned to Calypso, "Calypso, Festus thanks you for your concern, but the both of us have figured out the solution to that." I walked over to the control panel. I adjusted my voice to sound like one of those guys on the TV commercials "Presenting, the one and only, Auto pilot button. It allows Festus to take control of the ship when I'm not aboard. He can breathe fire and use the lower level Greek fire cannons. He can also use this amazing juice maker in case one of those deadly monsters gets thirsty. Call 91188899 for a free home delivery, or contact his highness, the greatest mechanic of all times, both greek and roman, LEO." The hunters groaned. Piper facepalmed. The rest of them were shooting me evil glares. But Calypso giggled, and that just about made up for it.

I made a big show of turning the auto pilot on, while Calypso threw Festus a few chilis, which she grew back on Ogygia. I remember those were extra spicy, even for me. Festus was the only one who liked them so much.

Meanwhile the others had packed their weapons and any other supplies. I turned to Festus. "I will miss you buddy, keep safe. If I come out alive, then I promise we'll go flying around the world." Festus squeaked. "Of course we'll go with Calypso. I want her onboard as much as you do." Calypso blushed at this.

"Of coarse I'll come with you Festus. I'll do anything for you." Calypso smiled as she kissed the dragon's neck. Festus breathed fire out of his nose.

"Anything? What if he asks you to leave me?" I smirked.

"I might…" Calypso smirked back.

I was about throw out another witty answer, but Thalia didn't give me the chance. "Hey, you two lovebirds, we have to get going NOW."

"Okay okay, at least let me say goodbye to my dragon." I hugged Festus's neck and mouthed a silent goodbye, while Thalia and Calypso climbed down the ladder. Festus squeaked back. I pulled the ladder up. Jason flew me down from the ship, and I watched as the Argo 2… MY Argo 2, flew off to fight some venti. Hopefully, I get to see my ship and Festus, soon after this whole Nico saving episode is over.

Frank spoke up, "Alright guys, split up. There are 3 ways that lead to the city. One is west, one east and one north. All the Hunters will take the east road, my group will take the west while Leo, you guys can go north."

Reyna asked, "How do we find each other if one of the groups, finds Nico and they need help getting him?"

I took out a few pistols from my jacket and handed them to each of the groups. "Signal flares, like the ones the mortals use. Fire them upwards and send us a signal if you find something. It need not be Nico, so each is loaded with 5 bullets."

"Right, now we must not waste time. Let's go." Thalia urged, her condition getting worse by the minute. She seemed really worried about Nico. She is definitely in love with him. And we set off…

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**I'm sorry, I didn't give you the action I promised. But I had to put this chapter. I just had to. I promise on the river styx that you will have action in the next one. I also want those reviews. Please, pretty please... how about a blue cookie for each review. But please review. Read, Rejoice and _REVIEW._**


	19. Chapter 19

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

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**_It's war_**

Phoebe's POV:

Jane, Katrina, Jude, Elisa were in my group, while the others formed another group.

'I hate this mission. I am only doing this because Artemis asked me to, and because Thalia is my friend. I didn't want Thalia to leave in the first place. And I don't want to go on this mission, saving the boy who took Thalia away from us. I couldn't bear the embarrassment when those Aphrodite girls back at the camp were mocking us for losing our lieutenant to LOVE!'

_(Flashback)_

"_Hey love haters, where's your lieutenant? Did she leave you guys alone? See, even she agrees that you should love. She had enough sense to understand that. You should learn from her. Love ALWAYS wins. ALWAYS." All the Aphrodite girls started laughing._

_I got very angry. The next thing she knew, she was in the infirmary. And I was in my cabin, laughing._

_(Flashback ends)_

Artemis asked us to help Thalia in her quest when we meet again. I was reluctant, but Artemis told me there was a much greater reason to that quest than what Thalia asks us to do, though she constantly refused to tell me what it was. 'I wonder what that is.'

"Phoebe, TO YOUR LEFT!" Katrina screamed.

I swung my bow around and shot a Cyclops down. It crumbled to dust.

"What were you thinking? Keep an eye out, we don't want to lose another lieutenant. We already lost two in a very short span of time." Jane shouted.

"It's nothing. Let's get moving. We should go downtown. More monsters seem to be coming from there." I put on a fake smile. But in reality, I was worried, for the hunt, for Thalia, and for that very serious reason Artemis refused to mention.

We started to walk in that direction. Suddenly, a blast erupted from behind Katrina. "KATRINA…"

Another blast erupted behind me. I managed to escape it, but just barely. I looked around to see an empousa throwing human hand grenades, I don't know where she got those. She threw another one, this time at Jude. Jude managed to dodge it, but the explosion sent her flying into a wall. She hit herself hard on her left shoulder. I could see she was in pain.

Before the empousa could throw any more, I shot her through with an arrow. She dissolved.

I ran to help Jude. She was okay, though she might have fractured a bone. It will take a while for that to heal. But she was alive. I looked at Jane and Elisa standing over Katrina's body. Elisa crumpled to the floor, while Jane looked at me, and slowly shook her head. A pang of guilt struck through my heart. We hadn't even come close to the enemy, but we have already lost a member.

I crouched down beside Katrina's motionless body, and whispered a prayer of goodbye, and then I closed her eyes. I was crying.

I turned to the others. "Ladies, we have lost a brave hunter, let her death not be in vain. Rest in peace, Katrina."

I turned around and found a Drakon approaching us. I urged the rest of them to stay alert.

I loaded my bow and fired. The arrow just bounced off its skin. The others had their bow ready. I shouted "The eyes, blind it."

They aimed for its eye, while I ran for its legs and took out my spear. I remembered that we can only kill it through the eye. The others tried to distract it. It blew fire at them. It tried desperately to avoid its feet, while watching out for its tail. It tried to hit me with its tail, but I jumped away, just in time. I took my spear and threw it at the Drakon's eye. It died instantly.

I let out a sigh of relief. But my worries came crashing back to me, when I saw another wave of Cyclops, hellhounds and harpies charging at us. I shivered at the sight of it, but quickly caught myself from going any further, when I realized that I had to be strong for the others. I called out "Ladies, we're going to have a party today, and it's going to be Olympus sized."

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Piper's POV:

'Why do I have a bad feeling about this mission? It's like something big is happening, something that shouldn't happen, but it is.' I looked down at Katropis to see if it can show me something. What I saw disturbed me a lot. I saw someone, a girl, taking a sword, and driving it through her heart, so far I could see the sword on the other side. I couldn't figure out who it was though. She started to fall down, she was turning around as she fell, but just before I could see her face, the image dissolved and Katropis seemed just like any other triangular dagger. I dropped it, and started shivering. My legs felt like the were made of jelly, and I crumbled to the ground. Sometime, in the near future, a girl, who I might know, will drive a sword through her heart. And Katropis won't show it to me unless it could mean something to me.

Jason came up to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulder. "Pipes, what happened?" His face showed a look of concern. I liked that look on his face. He looks so cute.

"Nothing, I saw a woman drive a sword through her heart, Katropis showed me that." I replied, still shaking. Jason hugged me. I could feel his heartbeat. The sound comforted me.

"Don't worry Pipes, nothing is going to happen. I'm with you." Jason started rubbing my shoulders, with one arm while he kept the other on the back of my head, stroking my hair. I felt a warm sensation flow through my blood. I would've dozed off in his arms, if I hadn't seen the furies behind Hazel.

"HAZEL, BEHIND YOU!" I screamed.

Hazel managed to dodge their attack just in time. Frank shot one down with his bow and arrow. Jason took out his sword and chased after them. I took out Boread's sword and slashed at the nearest fury. Hazel summoned a few gems and willed them to fly after the furies.

What I hadn't noticed was the hellhound behind Frank. It knocked him down and started to bite his arm. I threw Katropis at it. It pierced the hound in its neck, and the hellhound exploded. I ran over and helped Frank get up.

Once we had rounded up the furies, we thought it would be time for recess. Looks like the monsters had another thought in mind. At a distance, I saw a horde of centaurs and hellhounds marching our way.

We tried to attack from here. Jason summoned lightning bolts, while Frank shot arrows. Even though he couldn't aim straight, with his wound, there were so many, that even an arrow 20 feet off course, would hit something. I tried to charmspeak them to attack each other, while Hazel summoned gemstones to attack them. I noticed that Hazel was limping. And then I noticed the blood around her leg.

"Hazel, what happened?"

"One of those furies got my leg. I don't think I can walk that far. If nothing works, leave me here. I'll take care." With that she sat down on the ground.

"NO, I am NOT leaving you ALONE!" Frank shouted.

"Here, have some." I said handing her some ambrosia. I searched around for any escape routes. "We have to get Hazel to safety." I saw one, a street named _Madison street._

"Guys, in here." I helped Hazel get up, and rushed into the street. She was too heavy for me, so we struggled to walk. Frank ran up to me and picked Hazel up and carried her over his shoulder, and then he ran into the street.

Jason and I covered up for him. Any monster that got with in my sword's range, was now Saturday monster meat special. We backed up into the street, and then turned to run with Frank. The good news is that we managed to get away from direct sight of the monsters, the bad news, we ran into a dead end.

"Try all the doors and see if one opens up, we can hide in there until the monsters go away."

I ran to the first door I could find, a mansion. I realized that there might be some supplies in there which help us. I banged on the door, but no one answered. I turned around to see if the monsters had caught up. Luckily for us, they didn't.

Just then, a hand reached out and grabbed me inside. "JASON!" I screamed.

I heard Jason scream my name. I turned around to see who had pulled me inside, weapon ready to kill him if he tried something.

I nearly fainted when I saw his face…

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**And there's the action I promised. Please guys, review. Your reviews will help me write better. Please review whether you like the story or not. I will take all your reviews positively and work on my flaws. Please, Read, Rejoice and _REVIEW._**


	20. Chapter 20

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

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_**Of fainting people**_

Piper's POV:

_I nearly fainted when I saw his face…_

"Percy, you're alive…" I whispered.

"Are Jason, Frank and Hazel out there?" Percy asked.

The door burst open, to reveal Jason, Frank and Hazel, who was still motionless on Frank's shoulder. Jason was angry, but when he saw Percy, his jaw dropped.

"Percy, you're alive…" Jason and Frank chorused. I stared at Percy, and then the two of us broke out into fits of laughter, leaving them puzzled.

"What is so funny?" Jason asked.

"Nothing, it's an inside joke. Now let's get Hazel upstairs." Percy led Frank upstairs. Jason and I ran up after them.

Percy called out to a redheaded girl, "Carly, we need some more medical help. Can you bring the first aid kit from the other room?"

"On it." Carly replied and ran off to another room.

Frank laid Hazel down on a bed, and kissed her forehead. "It'll be alright, Hazel."

The redhead… Carly, walked back inside and started working on Hazel's leg. She took some nectar and rubbed it on the wound, and then placed it on a pillow.

I looked out the window and saw the monsters searching the street for us. One of the Cyclops had an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. I didn't want to give away our hiding spot, so I closed the curtains. I turned to Percy, eager to learn his story, and whether he knows why so many monsters are out here today. I meant to ask him so many things, but mouth seemed to have other thoughts. "Do you know how much Annabeth was worried about you, when you left her again. She even left camp. Now, even we don't know where she is."

Percy smiled, and walked out of the room. And as he did, he caught my arm and pulled him with me. Jason followed me out, while Frank decided to stay back with Hazel, typical.

Percy pulled me into the room where Carly ran to get the first aid kit. In the room I saw Annabeth, sleeping peacefully on the bed.

"Oh, so you found each other, when did this happen?"

"She still doesn't know that I am here." He shrugged.

"Well why don't you wake her up and tell her that. She would be more than glad to see you, even if it meant that she should lose some sleep." I snapped.

"I can't" he replied.

Terror struck through my heart. "No don't tell me…"

"No, she is alive. I wouldn't even be smiling if she is…" He couldn't finish the sentence. A feeling of relief seeped through my veins. "She was knocked out by a blast. She has been unconscious for about 3 hours now. She should wake up soon enough. Hera said that she would wake up soon."

I tuned out after he said Hera. Jason flinched. I used to respect that goddess. _Used to._ That was until she sent us on that war against Gaia.

"Is she…" Jason started.

"She is in the next room, planning what to do next. She wanted her help." Percy pointed to his girlfriend. "But Annabeth can't help right now. All I can do is wait.

It was a choice, wait until she wakes up, or help you guys out. Luke, the guy who helped Kronos come back to life, but instead killed Kronos in the end, is downstairs, in the kitchen, making food for us. I'll tell him that he should make a few more, now that you guys are here. And by the way, you guys should go see Hera. She would want to meet you."

I hesitated, and I could see that Jason didn't want to go either.

"Oh it's okay, in fact, considering the enemy who we have to fight there, I suppose she is our best help." Percy's face dropped at the word enemy. Whoever it was, Percy seemed to be scared of him, a lot. And if Percy is scared, then I don't suppose that should be god for us. Percy isn't scared of any monster I had come across until now. Even the monsters that scared the make up out of me, couldn't even make him frown.

That's when I realized, one thing that Percy is scared of. "Tartarus" I said, causing Percy to flinch. His expression revealed everything. "I'm sorry"

"No, it's alright. We will have to face him again sometime soon. I still can't believe that he was the boss of my company, and Hera was his assistant, and the rest of the employees were discussing about a love affair between the two of them. It all seems so surreal." Percy shrugged.

"WHAT!" Jason and I exclaimed.

"Yeah, Hera will tell you the rest of the story. She usually leaves out this part, but I guess this is how I can get my kicks on her for erasing my memory and all that stuff." Percy winked. Jason and I smiled, and walked inside the room Percy had led us to. Then he walked back to Annabeth's room.

We walked in, and found Hera staring out of the window. She was holding something in her hand, a book. The cover read, _The fault in out stars._ Funny, I didn't know that the Queen of Olympus would be interested in a Romantic tragedy.

"Ah, you're here." She turned around and dropped her book. "Only two of you made it here. Where are the others?" Her face revealed a state of pure shock.

"Hazel and Frank are in the other room, Hazel got hurt and Frank is helping Carly nurse her." Jason said.

"What about the others? Leo, Calypso, Thalia, Reyna, the Hunters…" Hera was shaking with fear.

"We split up into groups, to search for Nico. Our group was cornered, so we ran, Percy saved us from them."

"None of you will survive this place, if you go in small groups. We have to go save them, NOW!" Hera rushed to the door.

Suddenly, Percy screamed. "Hera, Piper, Jason, you have to come and see this, NOW!"

Thalia's POV:

'Why me? Of all the people in the world, the fates had to choose me, to try all their crazy tricks and pranks on. Annabeth, you have earned my respect, but now I just want to ask you one thing, if I could find you first, _How did you survive this, for so many years? It's driving me crazy for just 3 weeks.'_

We were walking straight for about 10 minutes now, and surprisingly, not even a single monster in sight. 'That is strange, I saw so many monsters in the outskirts. I wonder why there aren't any over here.'

"Hey, Leo, what happened to all those monsters you told us about? Isn't that why we didn't go aboard the Argo 2" Reyna called out.

"Yeah, I'm surprised as well. But this place is too empty, even by regular standards. I'm puzzled." He replied.

We walked into some sort of warehouse, it was empty. Suddenly, Reyna caught me, by my shoulders. "Thalia… whatever happens… don't look up…" she gulped.

So if she asked me so nicely, what do you think I did? Of course, I looked up.

I wish I didn't. I felt my heart stop…

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**I thank you guys, for your support. I will definitely appreciate more reviews. Read, Rejoice and _REVIEW._**


	21. Chapter 21

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**Things get crazy**_

Phoebe's POV:

_I called out "Ladies, we're going to have a party today, and it's going to be Olympus sized."_

We charged. I guess you can imagine what happened. 4 hunters, one of them injured, against hundreds of enemies. We were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer weight of numbers. We were running out of arrows, energy and simply, options. In between my attacks, I could see Elisa being thrown across the battlefield, Jude sitting against a wall, hanging on for dear life, and Jane fighting nearly 3 monsters at a time. I could tell it was over, there wasn't any hope left for us. And that's when I remembered, the signal. I searched my pocket for that gun. I took it out and fired it, just as something hit my head hard, from behind.

I fell down and stopped moving. My vision blurred, and I couldn't see properly. I was feeling weak… helpless. Through my blurred vision, I could make out Jane's green dress, she was still fighting. And then I saw something orange come at her from behind, something brown was moving above the orange thing's head. It stopped moving, and it stayed there, just for a second, but that was all I needed to understand what was going to happen next. The brown thing landed on the green, Jane, and then the green contracted into a small blob, on the ground. Jane was dead.

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't find my voice. I just lay there, now completely helpless, unable to move, unable to speak. I could suddenly make out that all the orange had cleared out, and was now replaced by a dull mix of blue and white, the compound walls. I just lay there, hoping that someone would find the signal and come to our rescue, if any of the rest of them is alive.

A few tense minutes passed by. I had concluded that the monster army was gone. I tried to flex my fingers, or move my head or anything, any sort of movement that showed me that I still had control over my body, none. I was overwhelmed by the feeling of guilt. I had led the hunters to their death. Artemis will never forgive me for this. I prayed to the gods, hoping that they would listen. I wanted to get up and at least arrange a proper funeral for them, they deserved that. I wanted to inform the others about what we faced. I wanted to know what was going on over here, and why there are so many monsters. I prayed to every god and goddess, taking each of their names, starting with Artemis, and finally ending with my two least favorites, Aphrodite and Apollo.

Suddenly, I felt my hands again, the ends of my fingers moved slightly. Slowly, I could feel my body again. My vision became sharper. I could feel strength in my arms and legs. Slowly, using my hands, I shifted my body weight to my right side, as my left arm got hurt during the fight. I slowly pulled myself up on my feet. As I tried to stand on my feet, my legs crumbled beneath me, and I fell back to the ground. I looked around and saw, at a distance, another monster army. I knew that I could not fight another army again. I crawled as quickly as I could to the nearest alleyway and hid myself behind the dumpster. When I got there, I examined my wounds more clearly. Blood covered my left arm, my head was still spinning and my right leg hurts badly. It's been a long time since I felt pain, even if it wasn't this much, and I'm not too happy feeling it again.

As much as I tried to avoid it, tears started to roll down my cheeks. I was sobbing… crying… bawling, though I didn't let out a single sound, I was afraid the army would find me. I wasn't in battle anymore, so I was immortal, and monsters couldn't smell the blood of immortal hunters, Artemis told us that. I only wish, that they find me quickly, I didn't want to go through this anymore. "I want to live…"

Annabeth's POV:

I woke up in a huge room, but it wasn't all that decorated. It just seemed like an old tavern. I felt an arm around my waist. The arm was holding on to the fabric of my shirt, as if it was holding on for dear life. I wanted to see whose arm it was, but for some reason, I couldn't turn my head, or move any part of my body except for my eyes. It was as if some force was holding me down, preventing me from moving. But through the corner of my eyes, I could see who that arm belonged to, Percy. I felt happy, but I couldn't smile. I could see him again, after 5 years of waiting. I was desperate to see his face. But I couldn't move anything. I used my eyes to skirt around the room, for something that might help. I found a fireplace to my right. I wanted to continue to search for something that would help me, but for some reason, the room seemed oddly familiar. I looked down at my feet, as far as I could, to see two figures, a tall figure with hair like Einstein, with a cat on his shoulders, and a taller guy, wearing an apron, and holding a hunting knife in his hands. I recognized them - Bob, Small bob and Damasen.

Realization ran through my mind. I breathed in the air just to confirm. I took in foul air mixed with Percy's smell (He smelled like the sea). Sure enough, I was in Damasen's hut, in Tartarus. I was having a nightmare again. But for some reason, this one felt more real than any of those which I've had for the past 5 years. I wanted to move, I wanted to scream and run out of this place. I tried desperately to move my arms. My finger twitched.

Suddenly, the image dissolved, and world turned into a silent tornado. In the midst of the silence, I heard a voice, one that I recognized immediately as that of my sworn enemy, Gaia. I heard her scream but I could not make out a proper sentence "You-… how-… escape-… death." And then silence again.

Finally, before the swirling tornado ended after what felt like 10 minutes, I heard Gaia's voice "Come to me…COME TO ME" and then the swirling stopped and it turned pitch black again. Slowly, I could feel my eyes open. Light burst into my retina, blinding them and I shut my eyes tight again. Once again I tried to open them, this time, I opened them slowly. When I opened my eyes, I looked around, and I saw the room was painted blue. On my right, I saw a brown cupboard, and an open door. I could hear voices through it,

"_He… boss… company… love affair… surreal."_ _"WHAT!" "Hera… erasing my memory"_

I knew that voice, I knew it too well, and his last words just confirmed what I had in mind. My heart could probably break the sound barrier if it had been beating any faster, though I knew that can never happen as the human will not survive if the heart could… never mind. 'He is alive, and he is right outside this door. And I am going to see him again.' I tried to move my arms, and this time, it worked, but with a lot of pain. I was about to get off the bed and walk out to my love, but I didn't have to. Just then, who else should walk in to the room, but my one and only boyfriend.

"Percy…" I said. A feeling of warmth spread through me. Percy stood there dumbstruck. And then he literally ran over to me and hugged me tight, and started crying into my neck. I would have held him longer but my back and shoulders must have been protesting against his grip.

"Percy… too… tight." I let out in short gasps.

"Oh sorry, Wise girl, but seeing you awake and ALIVE after 5 years was just overwhelming." Percy was still crying, but I could see that these were tears of joy, obviously.

"What do you mean ALIVE? What am I supposed to be, dead?" I was confused.

"NO, I mean, I travel through all those monsters and finally reach you after nearly 2 hours of continuous monster action and 5 years of waiting, and I find you unconscious, in bed. I was just simply, depressed, and frightened that maybe I was just a few hours too late."

I hugged him, and then I remembered the blast, the centaur attack. But now I couldn't wait any longer. I held his face in front of me. He seemed to be expecting a kiss.

_SLAP… _I slapped him hard across his left cheek. "That was for Tartarus."

And before he could react or apologize, I pulled him into a deep kiss. It was passionate and spread that amazing feeling of warmth through me. Five years of waiting, crying, praying, hope, fear and everything else that I've felt, seemed to flow through that kiss. An enormous weight, almost as heavy as the sky, seemed to lift off my shoulders. At last, I felt complete. I can finally feel that old Annabeth come back to life inside me. She was there all time, but hidden away, waiting for Percy to come and pull her out of that dark corner. I felt that smile form on my lips as we pulled away from each other. I didn't want to, but I had to. There was much more at stake. "And that, was for coming back." I blurted out, dreamily. Percy smiled. "But we must inform Hera. We have much more to do now. I promise, once we finish this war against… You know… We'll sign a retirement program. I'm getting sick of all this. But I warn you Perseus Jackson, if you ever leave me again, that will be the end of it, I'm leaving you. It's over." I warned, giving him my deadliest glare ever.

"Fine, Annabeth. I will never leave you. You have my word." Percy laughed. My glare melted into a smile. Only Percy can do that.

"Fine, now inform the others." I urged.

Percy screamed. "Hera, Piper, Jason, you have to come and see this, NOW!"

"Piper, Jason, they're here?" I asked him.

"Yeah, Hazel and Frank made it here with them. Hazel is injured, Frank stayed with her, along with Carly." Percy replied.

'Good, now we have help…' I grinned.

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**Watch out for the 'How to train your Dragon' reference up there. And can I please have some more reviews... Read, Rejoice, and _REVIEW._**


	22. Chapter 22

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

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**_Finding Phoebe_**

Annabeth's POV:

_'Good, now we have help…' I grinned._

Jason, Piper, and Hera literally burst into the room, worried at what might have caused Percy to scream like that. When they saw me, they stood there, dumbstruck.

Piper was the first to react. She came over and hugged me tight, until the pain came. "Piper… ow…" I breathed.

"Oh" Piper loosened her grip, and took a step back. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. I was overwhelmed with relief, when I saw you after such a long time. We were worried about you, Percy and Leo, after the war." Piper smiled.

"No, it's okay. Even I'm happy, that I am meeting you again, before we possibly die in this battle. I might have already been dead now, but somehow, I guess Thantos didn't think it was time." Percy held me tightly. 'I almost forgot that he was here with me. How stupid of me' I mentally kicked myself. But guess five years of separation should do that to people.

Jason held out his hand. "Good to have our brain back. We were starting to go insane." That earned his stomach Piper's elbow. I laughed.

Hera chimed in. "Annabeth, I know this seems different, but we need your help in making a plan, and fast. They're entire team, decided to split up into groups and search for Nico."

Oh no! "That is bad, they'll get themselves killed. It's far too dangerous." I looked at Piper and Jason. I could almost see the fear in their hearts.

I looked down at Percy to see what he could make of the situation, not that it mattered, anyways. But I was disappointed to find him staring out of the window, not even bothering about our conversation.

"PERCY!"

Percy jumped a little, surprised. "Yes Annabeth."

"What are you doing?"

"I was looking at a shooting star."

I huffed. "This isn't the time for that… oh, even after five years, you're still so stupid."

"Annabeth, one last question, do shooting stars start on earth?"

Gods, this boy was so stupid. "NO, of course, not seaweed brain. How do you even get such questions?"

"But I just saw one start flying a few blocks from here." Percy said.

"WHAT! Enough jokes Percy, we are having a serious discussion going on over here." I laughed at his stupidity.

"THE SIGNAL FLARE!" Jason and Piper screamed, making the three of us jump. That's when I understood.

"What's wrong?" Hera asked.

"Leo handed us these guns that shot out signals like rockets, in case someone finds Nico, or needed help." Jason told us.

"If that was a signal, then we need to help them immediately. With all that danger out there, I suppose that they would probably need our help. It would be a miracle if they found Nico." I replied. I turned to Percy. "Seaweed brain, I'm sorry I laughed at you, but do you remember the place where the signal came from?"

"Yes, I do. Do you see that puff of smoke over there?" He pointed to a small smoky haze about a dozen blocks away. "That's where I saw it. And Annabeth, You're not forgiven just yet."

I pouted, and then I kissed his lips. Jason groaned, and Piper gave us a look that seems to be Aphrodite's trademark when she sees a cute couple. Trust me, only Aphrodite and her offsprings can do that face. Hera was too preoccupied to notice. I pulled away from Percy and gave him the puppy eyes. "Am I forgiven now?" I said that in the girliest way I could.

"Yes, you are." Percy said dreamily. I gave him a wide smile, before I turned my attention to Hera.

"What do you think, Hera?" I asked her.

"The rest of you go. I can't come. I will have Carly to help me out."

"Why can't you?" Percy asked, more out of curiosity than trying to convince her to come.

"Why do you think monsters didn't find you yet? This house is protected by two things, Annabeth's wish and my protective curse. Annabeth's wish was broken by Luke. My curse is that this house and everything inside is invisible to monsters. You can literally stare at a monster standing outside the window and make funny faces at it or hold placards or something like that, but it won't notice you. The curse is that, I have to stay with in the grounds. Luckily for us, I was standing in the front lawn of this house when Luke broke the curse and I was standing too close to the house when I was bombing the centaurs. Once I step out, the protective cover will go, and it won't come back." Hera explained. 'Wow, she really did try to protect us. I guess she's not as bad as I thought she was.'

"Come on guys, we need to move, NOW" I urged, as I got up to drag a still dreamy son of Poseidon out of the room. When I tried to walk though, my back was still protesting. I stumbled and nearly fell, but a certain son of Poseidon caught me before I could reach the floor.

"You should stay back." Percy said.

"No, I'm coming, and that's final, besides, I'm the only one who knows how to get there. I memorized the map while I was waiting for you." When I tried to walk this time, I could take steps without falling down.

"Okay then, promise me that you will try you're best to stay away from fighting monsters. I won't hesitate to leave the battle and carry you back to safety." Percy seemed more concerned than usual. I'm not complaining too much, but this is unusual. 'He would normally let me fight, but won't let anyone injure me. And he would never leave all his friends just to save me. He's too loyal for that. He would try to save everyone, somehow.'

* * *

We convinced Frank and Luke to come with us. Hazel was still too injured to fight. But Hera said she should be ready to fight in an hour or two. Carly kissed Luke goodbye, and we hurried in the direction where the signal came from. Jason explained what had happened, and who the enemy was. I quickly maneuvered my through smaller alleyways, it's a good thing I'm a daughter of Athena. We reached the place where the signal was fired from.

"Are we at the right place? There isn't anybody here." Luke asked.

"Yes we are…" Piper said weakly. She was white with fear, as if she had seen something terrifying. For a second, I got scared that it was Tartarus, but I followed her eyes and they landed on a girl, who lay dead against a wall. Blood draped her body, her hands bent in impossible angles, broken for sure. My blood had run cold, and I felt my lunch in my throat.

That's when I saw a bow near her fingers. "A hunter… there might be more. There is no gun here, so whoever shot that might still be alive. We have to find her and save her, before she dies too. Search around the place, she might be hiding." The others nodded and started searching.

Piper walked down the road to search for anyone, Percy and I went the other side. Frank and Jason checked out two alleyways to our right, while Luke went into the only alleyway on the left side.

Suddenly, Piper screamed. Jason came rushing to her aid, sword ready. But Piper just found another corpse, another dead Hunter. Jason found another one hanging on the wall nearby. They were all dead. 'There we go, losing lives again.'

We suddenly heard Luke's voice and a female's, she seemed to be crying and screaming at the same time. "YOU, you were the one who caused Zoe's death. How are you still alive? What do you want?" she cried.

We rushed into the alleyway. I found a very angry yet desperate Phoebe screaming at Luke. Percy and I rushed to her.

She saw us and screamed, "Annabeth, Percy, you're alive, and together. And I'm so happy to see you." Then she saw Piper, Jason and Frank standing behind us. "Piper look… look at what those monsters have done… they… they… killed them." She could barely say the last part. She was crying badly now. "I'm the only one alive in this batch of the hunters. It's too dangerous. And he…" she pointed at Luke. "This asshole must have something to do with this."

"Now, stop crying, we're here for you. And Luke is helping us. You don't know what is happening. Come with us, there is something very bad happening. I'll explain. But first, let's get you to safety." Piper helped her up, but she stumbled. "Frank, can you carry her back to the safe house." Frank nodded, and picked her up.

Now you may think we reached back safely, but think again. Phoebe panicked as she saw a horde of monsters right outside the alleyway, and they seem to have noticed us. 'UH OH…'

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**Please guys, spare at least 1 review, and I don't mind if you're criticizing me, I just want to know how you feel about it. Read, rejoice and _REVIEW._**


	23. Chapter 23

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

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_**Tartarus…**_

Thalia's POV:

_I wish I didn't. I felt my heart stop…_

Nico was tied up by his feet, hanging from one of those cranes. He was covered in blood, and his eyes were closed.

"Nico…" I whispered. I couldn't bear to watch anymore. I started crying, more than I ever had in my entire life. "No, he can't be… My Nico cannot die, there must be another way… he must be alive. NICO…" I wanted to rush to the crane and get Nico down from that place. Alas, the fates seemed to have something else in mind.

"Ahh… you must be Thalia." A voice hissed. The voice was deep and flung backwards for some awkward reason. It felt as if the words were moving away from me, instead of coming towards me. I looked around to find the source of the voice. When I didn't find it, I looked at the others, Leo and Reyna seemed confused themselves, but Calypso shivered. Leo seemed to recognize that.

"Calypso who is it?" Leo shook her when she didn't respond. "Calypso… CALYPSO…"

"T-…" she stammered "T-…"

"Calypso, who is it?" I demanded.

"Tartarus…" Calypso finally managed to spit out.

The name left me shivering. I thought Tartarus would just stay underneath the earth and help rebirth for monsters. No, he decides he wants to pay the world above a visit. I was just concerned why he had to involve us into it, unless he wanted revenge, but we never faced him, although his presence explains why we have come across so many monsters on the Argo 2. I looked back at the others, Calypso seemed like she was going to pass out, Reyna had a frightened look on her face, while Leo just seemed concerned for Calypso, typical Leo, the god of the pit, Tartarus himself was somewhere around them, and all he cared about was his girlfriend freaking out.

We heard footsteps, which sounded more like landslides, and caused minor earthquakes. He left craters in the ground as he walked. By the time he made an appearance in front of us, I was completely terrified. He was 20 feet tall, with huge arms, a huge weapon and a body that was jagged with stones. But what scared me the most was his face. It kept on spinning and swirling, sucking everything around into itself. Even the words he spoke were being sucked backwards into it.

"So you must be Thalia, and oh… Calypso's here as well, how nice to see you." Tartarus spoke in a sweet voice, at least he tried. It didn't really feel like it was sweet as the words kept getting sucked back in. Actually it felt creepy.

"Tartarus, what do you want?" I wondered where that came from. Sure I might be bold, but this is crazy, even by my standards. The others were staring at me like I was dancing in a pink Tutu, and singing the Barbie song. Zeus's underpants, even Tartarus was staring at me. I guess no one challenged him in a long time, at least not a demigod daughter of Zeus.

"Well then you are bold aren't you? Your boyfriend here spoke a lot about you." I wonder what I should be feeling right now, happy that Nico was speaking about me, or sad that he was speaking with Tartarus.

"Why are you attacking us? We haven't harmed you in any sort of way. Then why do you bother us? And what have you done to Nico?" Seriously, where is this coming from, I suppose my half dead boyfriend dangling from the crane had something to do about it.

"Ahh… yes. You may not have hurt me physically, but you have hurt my pride, and my loved ones. Over the past few years, 3 demigods have escaped me, one of them had escaped when there was not much activity, but he alerted me that people can escape me, one of them, stayed in my domain, hiding for a long time and escaped me silently, while the other one, escaped right in front of me, when I was at the peak of my power. And then, you all crush my beloved's dreams of awakening and turn my own son against me. I will have my revenge, especially on that girl, for she was the one who convinced my own son to turn against me." Tartarus growled with anger.

'His words left me thinking, three people escaped, Nico, Percy and Annabeth. Wait, three people escaped. That means Percy is alive, Annabeth would be so happy if she found out about this. Too bad, I don't know where either of them is. But once again, I feel my respect for Annabeth grow, she convinced the God of the pit's own son to turn against him. Wow, and I thought that speaking to Tartarus was a great achievement and she was the one who managed to get through Gaia's army and Tartarus himself at the peak of his power, but still escape.'

"I suppose I could kill you instantly but I want the other two here, and you are my only bait. But that doesn't mean I will leave you alone. Just fight some monsters till the others find you, and I don't care if you die, but I can't let you leave. You're too boring to kill. I really like that Hephaestus tv. It's simply amazing." Tartarus walked away muttering something about Zeus making a fool of himself.

A horde of monsters surged into the warehouse. I immediately saw my chance and ran over to the crane to get Nico down. Leo, Reyna and Calypso seemed to realize what I was trying to do, because they lured the monsters away from the crane. I ran up to the controls and switched them on. But nothing worked. I tried to push any of the buttons or move the stick but nothing made it work. I realized it, and I dreaded the thought as soon as it crossed my mind, I had to climb up.

I looked down and saw that I was already 10 feet off the ground. I felt my lunch up in my throat. There was no way I was going to climb up there. But then I saw Nico, hanging up there. Nico, my Nico, the reason I left the hunters, the reason I hadn't made any suicide attempts, the reason I had come here to Houston in the first place. I found a new resolve, a new determination to climb up. "Focus Thalia, don't look down, don't think that you will fall, you are a daughter of Zeus, and your love needs help. You are going to give him that." I silently prayed to my father, and stepped up onto the bars, and started climbing. I was going pretty well until one of the monsters found out that I was up there, the Cyclops rushed to the crane and started to climb it. Stupid thing, doesn't it realize that if it does climb up, the crane will crash. "Great position you got yourself into Thalia, it's like all your worst fears just came true all at once, Cyclops, heights, half dead boyfriend, evil and angry god of pit, and prayers to your father. And if that wasn't enough, all the others down there are losing."

I tried to shake myself and I took an arrow out and shot the Cyclops, and continued to climb up. Just as I reached Nico and pulled him up onto the crane, a Cyclops I didn't notice earlier made its way up the neck of the crane. The whole crane started to creak. I knew there was only one way out, and that was if Nico shadow traveled. I violently shook him, trying to wake him up. The Cyclops still climbed up. "Stupid Cyclops" I cursed under my breath as I desperately tried to wake Nico up. The crane complained against the weight and threatened to tip over. I turned around and shot the Cyclops in the head. The Cyclops collapsed and rolled off the side, but his hand was caught in the crane, he was still not dead. He tried to pull himself back up, but the movement caused the crane to creak loudly. The others were still too busy to help.

I desperately shook Nico while screaming his name. The Cyclops continued to tug at the crane, refusing to give up. Losing all other options, I kissed Nico as a last chance of hope, or a last drop of happiness before we die. At first I thought he wouldn't wake up, and I was giving up on him. I could almost hear Christina and A great big world singing in the background.

Suddenly, his eyes flutter open, I felt really happy. Just then, the entire crane collapses. "Nico, shadow travel, NOW" I scream. Nico stared at me, and instantly, we were on the ground, and I lay on top of him. I felt happy, happy that I was with him. Then I heard the crane above us, I just realized, that Nico had shadow traveled us right below the crane, and I was about to die, with him. My end was near, and this time, I realized it. I looked back at Nico for those last seconds, and he seemed to realize it as well.

"Nico, I love you." I gasped.

"Thalia, I love you too." I kissed him, full on the lips. I fely whole life flash though that kiss, and then I knew, that I did not die out of anger, out of fear or out of some quest away from loved ones. I am going to die, kissing the one who I love the most, and there is nothing more that I could ask for. I closed my eyes as the world went black…

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**Please forgive me... please. I just had to. Read, Rejoice and Review.**


	24. Chapter 24

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

**_Confession_**

Annabeth's POV:

When I saw the army approaching, my first thought had been to get Phoebe to safety. Apparently, Percy had other ideas. He summoned a huge wave of water out of nothingness and hurled it at the army. The good part, the army cleared out of the opening, the bad part, we were all washed out with them, excluding Percy. But the thing that bothered me the most, Percy didn't tell me about it, and Percy never attacks without me giving him the signal, or at least informing me. It was so unlike him. And he would definitely tell me if it was going to hurt someone who he cared for.

I shook myself off from those thoughts and tried to deal with the matters at hand. 'We have to fight this bunch. If we manage to win, it will lead to a major setback for the enemy.' My brain argued. 'But we have to get Phoebe to safety' the other half of my brain argued back, 'Frank will take her back.', 'We need Frank to fight them, we will never win if he doesn't.', 'Send someone else then.' I analyzed my friends. They were all staring back, as if they had been waiting for orders. My eyes stopped at Luke. He stared back at me, confused. My mouth spread out into a wide grin, which seemed to scare Luke.

"Luke, take Phoebe back to the safe house, quick." I knew that trusting Luke might be bad, but I had to.

"WHAT! No, I am not going with that traitor. I would rather walk back myself." Phoebe screamed.

"Phoebe, please. I promise that Luke has changed. You have to trust me. I swear on river Styx that he will not harm you." I hoped that she would accept, the monsters were recovering from that water attack.

Phoebe seemed to consider this. "Make him swear too." She finally said.

I glared at Luke, "SWEAR"

"I swear" his voice sounded more like a little girl than the guy who killed Kronos. And with that, he picked Phoebe up and took her back to the safe house. Phoebe still kept a dagger ready, in case he tried to do something to her.

The monster army recovered, and was now swarming us. Jason took to the skies as Piper drew out her sword. Percy drew out his Riptide, while Frank turned into a fire breathing dragon. I took out my Drakon bone sword. 'This is going to be one Hades of a fight.'

Reyna's POV:

I saw the crane topple as I slew a Cyclops. The next thing I knew, they were on the ground, still alive. I don't know how, but they were there. Then, I realized it, shadow travel.

I noticed something else. They were right below the falling crane. I hoped they would move out of the way, hoped that Nico still had enough energy left in him to shadow travel a few feet to their right. But I couldn't find out what had happened, a stupid Cyclops decided to take me has its target. I was thrown backwards, crushing into another Cyclops, instantly knocking it out. Leo can thank me for that. I got up and sliced the charging Cyclops in half.

I looked back at the fallen crane to search for the two demigods. I couldn't find them. I looked around the room to see if they had shadow travelled to safety. Another Cyclops decided to bother me. It turned into Cyclops barbeque before it could even have a chance.

That's when I noticed, a small trail of red liquid, seeping out from the fallen crane. I felt sick in my stomach. I heard Leo scream my name. Why was he screaming my name? Oh right, he wants me to escape the centaur's arrow that was making its way to my heart. I guess it's too late to do that…

Leo's POV:

We were almost done. Only 2 Centaurs and 1 Cyclops remain to be taken care of. I saw Calypso take care of the Cyclops, while I scorched one horse's ass. I turned around to Reyna, and found her staring intently at the crane wreck. I was about to find out what interested her so much, but I just happened to notice the arrow that the last centaur fired at her.

"REYNA…" I watched as she collapsed on to the floor. I sent the last centaur to its graveyard, and ran over to Reyna's side. I found her breathing heavily. Calypso was still dealing with the Cyclops.

"Leo… Leo…" she stuttered. I held her hand.

"Reyna, don't die… please." I was almost crying. Okay, cut the almost, I cried. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Calypso made a boulder explode on the Cyclops, killing it.

"Leo, my time… has… come… take care… of… her. And Leo…" I was crying badly.

"Leo… I wanted… you to know… I loved you… And I always will…" she stopped. Her hands lay motionless in mine. Her eyes lost the glow that they had when I found her aboard the Argo 2. For the first time, with her in my arms, I could see her, not as a leader who everyone respected, not as the praetor of Rome, but as a girl who was lost in life, a girl who just needed to be loved.

I kissed her forehead, and closed her eyes. I made a mental note to ask Nico to guide her to Elysium.

Calypso placed her hand on my shoulder, and squeezed it. "She sacrificed herself to stop Tartarus, let her death not be in vain." She said.

I nodded. "Remind me to ask Nico to put her through Elysium."

I was suddenly curious as to why Reyna was looking at that crane crash. I scanned the wreckage, to find the thing that caught her attention, the thing that ultimately resulted in her death. My heart probably stopped when I found it.

"Leo what happ-… " Calypso seemed to recognize it as well. We both ran over to the wreck to find Thalia and Nico, dead. So much for asking Nico…

Annabeth's POV:

The battle was finally coming together. We were winning. Percy doused the enemies with water, I wonder where he got all that. Sure he had the power to control water, but he never had the power to conjure water out of nothingness. Piper used her Cornucopia to douse the monster army in fresh lemonade and coke. Frank and I used our arrows to keep the army from spreading out, with help from Piper's charmspeak, while Jason summoned lightning to shock the army into monster barbeque, served fresh with lemons, coke, and burning spear candles.

When Jason finally ran out energy, you might think we were in for some serious trouble, what with Jason collapsed on the floor from exhaustion. But the good part about it was that we only had about 5 more monsters to take care of. That was quite easy, except for the last one. No it was not difficult to kill. A centaur was always easy to kill when you are such a large group. No, it was more about the aftermath.

The centaur tried to get away, but Dragon Frank went chasing after it. I was busy killing my hellhound, Percy was busy with his. Something was odd. Usually Percy and I fight while covering each others backs. In the entire fight, Percy didn't as much as come near me. I drove my sword through the hellhound's neck. It exploded into dust. I felt triumphant, but I didn't know that the centaur Frank chased had fired a last resort arrow, and it was heading straight for me, if it wasn't for Piper. The next thing I remember, Piper at my feet and an arrow sticking out of her chest.

"PIPER" I screamed.

"Annabeth…" Piper breathed.

"Piper, why did you do that? You are stupid, do you know that, even more than Seaweed brain…" I screamed.

Piper chuckled, but that only made her wince. "Annabeth, it's time I must leave. I want you to keep yourself alive. Somehow, I feel that you are the most important in this."

"Piper, we can do something, stay with me… there has to be something." I was desperate.

"Annabeth, please, it's time. I just want you to tell him…" She gestured to Jason, who still lay unconscious. "That I love him, more than anything else…"

I felt sick… and guilty…

* * *

**I'm Sorry (dodges a shoe)**

**no... really just listen (evades a bunch of rotten veggies)**

**Please, hang around till the end... I promise, it's worth it (dodges a Nokia)**

**YOU WANT TO KILL JUST ME OR THE ENTIRE PLANET AS WELL...**

**Read, Rejoice and _REVIEW._**


	25. Author's note (Please read)

**Sorry guys, this is just an Author's note. I am sorry that I have been missing out on a few days in the past week. I had an Indian equivalent to a high school graduation day, and some cousins visited me for my graduation. I have been busy with that.**

**I promise that the story will finish by the 15th of July. And what is so special about this day, its my birthday.**

**I am also really sorry about the amount of deaths in the story, but as this story has been from the beginning, you will not understand it until you have read the entire story. I also promise a happy ending. That is the most I can do without giving off the ending.**

**I would also appreciate some reviews. I know my writing is not that good. I am trying my best to improve. Your reviews will help me greatly. I also want to know how you feel about the story.**

**Last but definitely the MOST IMPORTANT I thank all those who have been following this story until now. I will update the next chapter by tomorrow. I love you all.**

**- Duke**


	26. Chapter 25

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**Of deaths and Mysteries…**_

Jason's POV:

I woke up back in the safe house. For some reason, my head hurt very badly, but it wasn't like something had hit me. No. It was more like a hangover. I skirted my eyes around the room. We were in the same room Annabeth was sleeping in earlier. I walked out into the hallway to find the gang sitting glumly by the couch.

"Hey guys, what happened?" When no one answered, I looked around to see if could find what was wrong. I couldn't find any. But I knew where I could get what I wanted. Piper…

I looked around for Piper. She wasn't in the room. Even Hazel was here, so she couldn't be with her. I searched the kitchen, and all the bedrooms just to be sure. I started to panic. Where could she have gone?

"Guys where is Piper?"

They looked at me with sad eyes. Then I understood, and their eyes told me that I was right.

"Piper is de-…" I couldn't bring myself to say it, and I tried to convince myself that it was all just a game, and that Piper would jump in from the window and hug me. But nothing happened. Tears ran down my cheeks, and I couldn't control them.

"No…"

* * *

Leo's POV:

This can't get any worse. I just lost three of my best friends, all at once, and one of them even loved me.

Calypso pulled me out of the warehouse. "They wouldn't want us to stay here. We have to move out before _he_ comes looking for us. Let's send out a signal once we get far enough."

I nodded. "Calypso, I have to tell you something. It's about Reyna."

"Yes" she started running. I ran beside her.

"Reyna loved me." I blurt out. "She admitted that to me, just before she…" I couldn't complete it. Calypso stiffened her grip on my hand, but she still didn't stop running.

"Leo, we have to get out of here, and send a signal. Someone else will find us if we do that. Come on." I couldn't find out what she is thinking at the moment, and the thought made me go wild with anxiety.

We ran out of the warehouse and tried to get as far away from it as possible.

"Leo, what city is this?"

"Houston" Her face lit up. I wonder why.

"Did you live here before? I remember you telling me about it."

"I can't remember much, I was very young, and my mother generally didn't take me out for anything." I saw her face turn gloomy again. "Okay, I think we are far enough, fire the signal."

I took the gun out of my pocket and fired it.

* * *

Annabeth's POV: **(From now on, the story will be from Annabeth's POV only)**

Jason crumpled to the ground, and started crying. I couldn't bear to watch this happen. I placed my head on Percy's shoulder. He looked down at me, he was crying. I saw his green eyes swirl with tears. I couldn't bear the guilt that I felt in my heart. I know that Jason will want to kill me right now. I felt that I was just awaiting my death. I couldn't think of any other outcome. I should spend my last few moments with Percy. I kissed him on the cheek and went back to sobbing into his shirt.

Jason squeaked between his sobs "How did this happen? Who killed her?"

Percy told him the story of the centaur and the arrow. I could see the anger in Jason's eyes. Sparks started bouncing off of his body.

I got up and walked over to Jason, still tears flowed down my cheeks like a river. "Jason, I'm sorry. I should have watched my back. I am responsible for her death."

Jason turned to face me. When I saw his face, I knew my end was near. He looked ready to murder Tartarus, should he come face to face with him. Suddenly, his expression changed. He was no longer angry. In fact, he seemed happy. "Piper saved you. You are more important. I understand why Piper did that and it's alright. And you are not guilty of her death, she chose that path by herself."

My jaw dropped. Something is wrong here. Jason should have killed me by now. I should be dead. And why is everyone telling me that I am important, and that I should survive. Why am I so important?

Phoebe ran into the room, panting. Carly shot her an angry glare.

"I saw… another… signal… Follow me."

We all followed her to the window. I stood away from Jason, huddled up in Percy's arms. I didn't want to be near him, in case he decides to change her mind. I saw a trail of smoke, at a distance. I memorized the direction in my head.

"This, time, we all have to go. We cannot stay here anymore." Hera announced. "You" she pointed a finger at Carly "You will come with us. Take Piper's dagger, and her horn. Luke will take her sword. I gift to you, the power of sight. You will now be able to see the truth. We normally don't do this, but in your case, I am willing to make an exception." Hera waved her hand. Golden dust circled Carly, and then started to glow. The dust flew away, leaving Carly startled. She stiffened for a second, and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she seemed to have a clear idea about what is going on. She picked up Katropis and tied the sheath around her waist, and wore the cornucopia around her shoulder. Luke walked over and picked up Piper's sword.

"Alright then, let's go. We have a war to win." Hera walked out the door, with the rest of us following her. I stayed in Percy's arms, and drove him as far from Jason as possible. I was still baffled by his response though. He shouldn't have taken it so lightly.

* * *

**The chapter is absolutely necessary. I really appreciate the reviews I have received. I thank you all. Read, Rejoice and Review.**


	27. Chapter 26

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

**_Getting caught..._**

Annabeth's POV:

I wonder why everyone is taking Piper's death so calmly. Hazel and Frank are smiling, while holding each others hands. Carly was busy glaring at Phoebe, while Luke tried to catch her attention. Percy was meddling with my hair, while Hera was chatting with Jason. Whatever happens, I hope that we reach those who need help quickly, without any monster attacks.

Hera walked over to me and dragged me aside by my elbow.

"What?"

"You have to keep yourself alive. Do everything you can, and don't think about anyone else. You have to keep yourself alive. Don't worry about any of us. Take Percy and go. When the next wave comes, we'll stall them, while you run to the place where they need help. We'll manage over here." She pointed at the approaching army of monsters, and urged me to go hide. My brain was going at a million miles an hour, trying to find a way by which we can avoid this plan. Before I could think of anything, Percy walked up behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist.

"No" I was stubborn "I won't abandon my friends and just leave, and I'm sure that Percy would agree with me." I looked back at Percy, hoping that he would take my side. My eyes were pleading him.

"No Annabeth, we have to go. They will take care. Hera already explained the plan to me while you were asleep. And by the way she explained it, it is best if we leave now. You are our last hope, if we lose you…" Percy didn't complete that sentence. Instead, he hauled me up on his shoulder and ran to the nearest hiding spot, a café shop down the street. It was surprisingly empty at 5 in the evening. There were only 3 people excluding the waitress, and the two of us. Percy put me down in a chair, and sat down across me. "Act normal." I stared at my boyfriend in disbelief. I was too stunned to speak.

I looked out of the window and saw the monsters attack the others. Percy grabbed my hand and dragged me to the door. I pulled my hand away. "Percy, what are you doing? Can't you see that they are in trouble? We have to go help them."

"Annabeth, you don't understand. You have to stay alive. They can keep themselves alive. I don't have time to explain, because we have to move, now. You have to finish the job. You have to…" He dragged me out of the café and we ran down the road. I turned back to see Carly being thrown in the air, Luke trying to slice the monster who did that. Phoebe getting killed by a manticore, while Jason, just barely surviving a Cyclops attack.

I stopped. "Percy, I can't" I sobbed.

"Annabeth. Please. They are giving their life for you. Don't let it go in vain." His eyes were filled with tears, but I was still not convinced. I was about to protest again, but his lips closed upon mine.

That effectively shut me up. My resolve crumbled to dust. The kiss sent a shock through my body, the good kind. My body felt warm, and I felt good. I wanted to stay like this forever. I wanted to freeze this moment for eternity.

Percy drew his lips away from mine. My heart sank with the feeling of emptiness in the place where Percy's lips were and I couldn't bear it. I wanted those lips back on mine, forever. I pulled his face in for a second kiss. This was a shorter one, but it was still just as amazing.

Percy pulled away from me. "Where do we go? Where did you see the signal?"

I pointed down the road. Percy and I ran in that direction. 'I will not let their deaths be in vain.' I thought.

* * *

"Are you sure that we are in the right place?" Percy asked me.

"Sure, you trust me don't you, Seaweed brain?" I smirked.

"Of course I do Wise Girl, I don't call you that for nothing. We just have to search for them then." Percy smiled.

We searched around the area, finding nothing. We ran from place to place trying to find the source of the signal. I was getting ready to give up, when I heard the sound of a fire.

At first, I didn't think it would mean anything. Just some fire place or something like that. But then I realized, Leo…

I ran to the fire and sure enough I found Leo, but with a beautiful girl. I couldn't recognize her. Percy, stood behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist. As soon as he saw them, his arm stiffened. I recognized her now, beautiful girl, caramel hair, brown eyes, Percy doesn't like to be near her, after the fall into… "Calypso" I silently mouthed.

Leo's smile widened after he saw us. "Percy, Annabeth, you're alive. I thought you were broken Piniatas by now. I can't believe it."

"Calypso…" Percy said glumly. Leo's smile dropped. I grabbed Percy's arm and held it tight. Calypso stared at Percy, then at my arm, and then back at him.

Leo placed his hands around Calypso's shoulder. It turned out into something more of a staring contest.

Percy was the first one to break the silence. "I'm sorry, Calypso. I should have done something more. I should have checked whether the gods kept their promise or not, seems like they did, finally."

"I'm sorry too, Percy. I shouldn't have cursed Annabeth." She turned to face me. "I'm sorry Annabeth." I forgive her immediately, because I know how it feels when Percy is talking to some other girl.

"Did you guys fire the signal?" I asked them.

The bright smile that I usually see on Leo's face disappears, replaced by a sad look, which is unusual for Leo. I have no clue about Calypso, but I can see that she looked sad as well.

"What happened?" Percy asked them.

"Reyna, Nico and Thalia…" Calypso started. "They…"

'NO. This can't be happening. Reyna, Nico and Thalia are…' Tears stream down my cheeks.

Suddenly, we were covered by a net, made of gold. Khione was standing on the roof of the nearest building, staring at us, grinning.

"Hello, everyone. I was just taking you to the boss. He wants to see you all immediately." She shot Leo an angry glance, and then taped her bitchy smile back on her mouth. I guess you can conclude that we are doomed…

* * *

**Just as I promised, the last chapter will be out on the 15th of July. Only 2 more chapters now. I am very close to finishing this. Read, Rejoice, and _REVIEW._**


	28. Chapter 27

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**Truth and Death**_

Annabeth's POV:

Khione and her half brothers, the Boreads dragged us into an empty warehouse. One of them asked for the girl with the rainbow eyes, Piper. I choked back a sob. Khione didn't stop sending Leo glares, while receiving equally as much from Calypso. Percy just stared as we were dropped right in the middle of the warehouse. "The boss awaits you…" her smile was wide enough to fit a large size pizza in it, whole. I was disgusted by it. Khione waved her hand and a Cyclops behind her walked out of the warehouse through the back entrance.

I pictured Thalia, Nico and Reyna, dead. The thought overwhelmed me. I leaned on Percy and sobbed into it, as I remembered all the others who died for me, Piper, Phoebe and the Hunters, and all the others who might have died in that battle. Percy's shirt is wet from all the tears. Percy looked at me and held my face in his arms. I could see that he too was crying from all that has happened in the past two days.

The ground shook. Something was making its way towards us, something big. And I know just what it is. The very thought of it sent shivers down my spine. I saw Calypso and Leo huddled up together. They seemed terrified. I suppose they found out what is making its way to us. Tartarus…

I flinched at the thought of the name. It brought back so many bad memories, no not bad, horrifying. All it reminded me is of that one nightmare, of Percy leaving me. I couldn't bear it. I thought I had gotten rid of that nightmare. I haven't had a night's sleep without a nightmare. Not in the last 5 years.

And suddenly, all my nightmares have just come true. We all staggered to our feet and stood in front of a 20 foot tall Tartarus. Percy stared at Tartarus and then at the army behind him. We could see all the monsters we had fought, Kelli, the Minotaur, a few furies, the Arai, giants like Polyphemus, and even titans like Hyperion. My heart sank below Tartarus, probably into Chaos. I doubt we could fight Tartarus alone, even with the four of us, but the entire army AND Tartarus, all at once. If we win this somehow, the gods should have something worth the trouble. At least some peace… For the rest of our lives.

"We should fight…" I started.

"NO!" Percy shouted. That puzzled me. He was the sort to give up his life for the cause. He would never care about his life…

"Percy, I don't care what you say this time. I will die fighting if I have to." I grab my dagger tightly, waiting to attack.

"NO!" this time, all the three of them shout at me.

"You are too important." "You cannot die." "Don't do it"

Why are they all opposing me? Why do they all want me to live? What have I done that is so important? And definitely, Hera did not have a conversation with Leo and Calypso. Why are they telling me that I'm important, when Hera did not say anything to them?

I hadn't noticed the Tartarus army creep up behind the three of them, and capture them in their nets. I tried to save Percy but two other guards came up and stopped me from doing that. They took my sword and dagger. They tied up the three of them wit ropes and hung them from cranes. I was alone on the ground, weaponless.

"Hello, we meet again, Chase. I've been waiting to meet you again for many years now. The last time we met, you managed to escape me. I suppose this time, you won't be so lucky." Tartarus bellowed. I knew this would be my end. This is how I would die, in the hands of the God of the Pit, with my friends dead in front of me.

"Or maybe, let's try something else, shall we…" I pondered his words, trying to find out what he meant. I guess I realized it a little too late. Tartarus had shot a jagged rock at Leo, piercing him to death. Calypso screamed. "LEO…"

Leo fell to the ground, and Khione walked over to his side, and kicked his body, flashing him an evil grin. I could see the happiness in her eyes. She looked ready to kill him all over again. I just wanted to kick her face. I could see that Calypso wanted to do the same.

"Ah… poor guy, he just wanted someone to love. Too bad he had to kill my beloved Gaia's dreams to do that. That was for her…" Tartarus didn't have a face, but I could feel his evil smile. At least someone's happy. Calypso's wails got louder. I suppose that she had finally lost it. Leo had meant everything to her, and to see him like that, she might have just lost her mind.

"Silence…" Tartarus shouted, but Calypso paid no heed. I realized where this was going.

"NO…" I screamed. Calypso hang limp from her spot. Blood trickled down her body. Her wailing stopped.

I couldn't bear to watch her. I turned away from her, in an attempt to control my trembling hands or my leaking eyes or my crazy brain. But all hope of doing that was lost, after I saw who was next in line. Percy…

"I see that you realize what I want to do. But first, let me show you something." He waved his hand.

A bright screen appeared, and the image of the battle appeared in front of me. I saw that Jason was dead, holding an image, an image of Piper against his chest. Hazel and Frank died together, their arms locked together. Phoebe lay dead on a wall. Luke was stabbing the Cyclops who killed Carly, but he too was stabbed in the back, right in front of us. Hera lay on the ground, in a pool of golden blood, dead. I choked on a sob.

The scene changed, it was a view of Olympus, the new one. We could still see the half constructed buildings. Some of them which I left unfinished, while others, someone seems to have constructed it, but it could not match mine. Suddenly, the nearest statue, one depicting my mother holding a book, exploded into a Cyclops. My mother was fighting it with all her might, but I could see that she was leaking golden Ichor all over Olympus. The scene changed rapidly, showing all the gods, fighting a huge pile of monsters, all of them either fighting like mom, or dead like Hera. Then the ultimate weapon came in, the giants. They could not be killed, as there wasn't a demigod in Olympus. The gods will die now, and that is inevitable.

The screen dispersed, leaving me trembling at the guilt that felt upon my shoulders. The guilt was unlike anything I had felt before. I couldn't think straight, Hades, I couldn't even stand. I dropped to my knees, and tears rolled down my cheeks. We are done for, the gods are dying, Tartarus is taking over, and all I can do is watch. I certainly didn't want this life. I wanted to die now. But I remembered my promise to Percy, but I can't follow it now, Tartarus will surely kill me now.

"You might be wondering what I will do right now" I could feel his grin get wider. "I will destroy every demigod in the world, except one."

My stomach lurched. I whipped my head around so quickly, I was surprised that I didn't fracture my neck. I realized who that one would be. Me…

Tartarus would have nodded, if he could do that. As always, I was right.

"I want you to see the end of the world with me, and then-…" I tuned him out of his end of the world lecture. 'Why does every one want me to live? Why am I so important? What am I supposed to do that will change the world?' was all I could think of.

I tuned him back in when my ears heard the word Percy.

"I will start by killing Percy, your favorite." All that registered was 'Killing' And 'Percy'. My heart sped up. I hands started to shiver again. My Percy was going to get killed by the God of the Pit right here, in front of me. Suddenly, an empousa jumped in front of the crowd and addressed Tartarus.

"I want to have revenge on that boy, and his girlfriend." She shouted. A name crossed my mind, and it sent shivers down to my toes. Kelli…

"I want to kiss him, and then I will kill him myself." Kelli grinned evilly. My heart shattered. This was worse than watching him die. This was definitely worse. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I was lost in the terror of seeing them. I decided to look away and pretend it didn't happen.

"And I want her to see it" Kelli laughed happily. 'That Bitch…' I couldn't take it any longer. Tartarus waved his hand in agreement. The guards picked me up and forced me to look at Percy. I didn't want to. I tried to close my eyes, but some magic was keeping them open. I was forced to look at him as Kelli kissed him on the lips. I dreaded it, I wanted to kill myself. I could probably bear to watch the world end but not this. Not after all we have been through.

I finally looked at him in the eye, one last time. His green swirling eyes, like the ocean. How I loved his eyes. How I craved their attention. I wanted to be able to stare into those eyes for the rest of my life. But suddenly, I noticed something I them. A small touch of blackness in them, that wasn't supposed to be there. I knew his eyes better than my own body. I knew the exact pattern. I found a difference. I saw that there was a different pattern in his eyes. I knew this was not my seaweed brain. My heart felt better, and I could think properly.

Kelli drove a knife through his heart, but I didn't care. He was not my seaweed brain. Now that I realize it, everyone was acting different. Jason hadn't mourned over Piper's death. Leo had not cracked a single joke. Hera was friends with me. Everyone told me that I was very important. Most of all, Percy did not act loyal to anyone, which is not something that he would do. Kelli threw the dagger away. It skidded to a halt right in front of me.

I remembered something, a nightmare that I had recently, Damasen's hut. I wondered why that felt so real, so alive and so much more believable than this. I remembered Gaia's words _Come to me... COME TO ME…_

That's when I knew. I knew the truth and why they are all trying to keep me alive. Why I am so important.

I picked up the dagger that was next to me, the one that killed Percy, Kelli's dagger. I stood up on my spot.

"Tartarus, I know what you want. And I will let you have it. You can have your revenge." I lifted the dagger above my heart. I looked at Percy. He was still clinging on to life, but just barely.

"Annabeth… You… promised…" He mouthed.

"Yes. Yes I did. Seaweed brain…" I drove the dagger through my heart…

* * *

**This is my largest and possibly my best chapter yet. There is only the epilogue left. What will happen to Annabeth? Will she be right again, like she always is? Or will she make a mistake? Read, Rejoice and _REVIEW._**


	29. Chapter 28

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own PJO, but I'd love to. I only own my characters.

* * *

_**The end of the story…**_

Annabeth's POV:

_I drove the dagger through my heart…_

The world blanked out. I closed my eyes. I wonder if I had made a mistake. If had been wrong, and everything that had happened was real. I prayed that it wasn't, and that I would wake up to see Damasen's hut. I just realized what happened.

Gaia had enclosed me in my dream. She tried to stop me from helping the group. She tried to absorb me or something, through my dreams. I was not willing to find out what she tried to do. I was definitely not _that_ curious.

Suddenly the silence around me stopped, replaced by the sound of a fireplace, and someone's light snores. The air was foul, but I could smell the ocean, and then I knew it, I was right. I opened my eyes to find Percy sleeping next to me, peacefully. At least as peaceful as it can get in Tartarus. I kissed his forehead. I knew that this was MY Seaweed brain. I smiled.

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

**(5 years later…)**

I was still scared of the incident. Even though Percy had not left me in Tartarus, I was still worried. Percy came up behind me and placed his arms around my waist.

"Wise girl, I am here with you, nothing is going to happen. I love you." He kissed my lips.

Yep, Percy knows, but nobody else, not even the gods. I told him about it a few nights after we escaped from Tartarus. I smiled. I fiddled with the ring he gave me. We were currently on honeymoon, in Paris. Yes, we are married. I wanted to be his wife before anything else happens, but we still played safe. I didn't want my pregnancy or my children to get involved in the fight, if there is one. I was happy with my husband, for now. I deepened the kiss.

* * *

**(10 years later…)**

"Sally, come back here. You can have the cake later. It's yours anyways."

A small girl with blonde hair and green eyes came running into my arms. Sally Minerva Jackson, our daughter, will turn 4 today. After the days of expected war had past, Percy convinced me to have children. I was reluctant at first, but I wanted them as badly as he did. Yes, them. Percy walked in with Bob. Bob Poseidon Jackson, our two year old son lay fast asleep in Percy's arms. He had raven black hair like Percy, but he had my grey eyes.

"DADDY" Sally screamed. I took Bob up in my arms as Sally ran into Percy's.

"Daddy, when will the party begin?" Sally asked in cute voice that made me laugh.

"It will start as soon as Bob has his bath." Percy replied as Thalia walked into the room. "Wow, someone is happy."

"Aunt Thali…" Sally screamed with delight. Thalia made a face.

"It's aunt ThaliA… okay. Thali… A"

"Aunt Thali…" Sally face had that look that Percy has when he is confused.

"Thalia, forget it. She is only 3." I say.

"4 MOMMY, I AM 4." Sally screams in protest.

"Sorry sweetheart, she is only 4, Thalia." I say.

"Fine, now who wants cake?" Thalia asks. She looks at me and says "Everyone on the list is here."

"ME!" Sally screams.

"Me too!" Percy screams.

We all laugh. This was all I could ask for, Percy, me, our children and our friends happily living our life. Thalia quit the hunters for Nico, Leo rescued Calypso and they made up, Grover and Juniper have 3 kids, Chris and Clarisse are together, Jason and Piper just returned from honeymoon, Frank and Hazel married, while Reyna found a new demigod called Harry. Everyone was happy and no world ending wars were predicted, courtesy of Rachel. We were all happy for that.

My life is complete...

_**THE END**_

* * *

**So we have finally reached the end of this story. I want to thank all those who have supported me from the beginning till the end. I would also like to apologize to those I didn't satisfy with this story. I will try to do better next time. Thank you.**

**- Duke**


	30. Author's Note 2

**(Author's Note)**

**Hey guys, what do you think? Do you want me to do a sequel of one shots, about their life as Percabeth? I have a few Ideas...**

**Like Annabeth explaining the dream to Percy, or marriage, or kids... you get the idea...**

**Let me know, and I am also open to more ideas.**

**- Duke**


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